Curiouser and Curiouser
by Laialda
Summary: Sequel to Tumbling into Madness. Hatter, Harry, and Alice barely have time to start their lives back on Earth when an unexpected declaration appears...something that would soon change everything. Pairings: HatterxAlice
1. Please do not adjust your mind

**Forward:** Welcome to my sequel to Tumbling into Madness. If you haven't read it already, be sure to do so or else this story may not make much sense I'm afraid. This story will cover the plot points of the Harry Potter book series but I must inform you that I am not sticking to canon. My story is an AU just by act of combining these two fandoms and I have adapted both worlds to fit theories, history, and backgrounds that I have created. If that is not you're cup of tea then you'd best turn around now as I have no intentions of changing this decision. I will also promise right now that I will never abandon my story, but if there is ever a need for an extended break between chapters (ie-more than two weeks) I will let it be known on both my live journal account and profile page. With that being said, I hope you enjoy. -Laialda

Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland/Syfy's Alice, nor do I own the Harry Potter series. No monetary prophet is being made from this story. This disclaimer applies to all future chapters as well.

* * *

Curiouser and Curiouser

Chapter 1:_ Please do not adjust your mind-reality is malfunctioning_

Jack Heart, recently coronated King of Hearts and ruler of Wonderland was regarding the status report before him with a heavy heart. His mother had certainly done a number on their once fair land and even solitary confinement suddenly felt too good for her. Over forty percent of the population was suffering from anywhere between mild and extreme reactions to being cut off from their once steady supply of Emotion Tea. The recall of any and all bottles had of course caused riots and the death of a handful of his subjects as the heavily addicted ones violently rebelled. Suits of all ranking had been temporarily called out to enforce an active Martial Law on Tugley City as a result. The Queen had always used the Suits as her own personal bullies and Jack was sure many addicts now viewed him in the same light as he drained the city dry of any and all Emotion Teas. The Resistance was a disorganized mess with the loss of Caterpillar, with a select few arms not quite ready to follow what they saw as another dictator. Surprisingly, Dodo was one of the more vocal of his supporters but Jack supposed some of that stemmed from him granting the man's request to watch as the Queen was locked away in her cell. Dodo had called it a pity that she couldn't be put out to work a public service to atone for her crimes, but was satisfied that she would no longer poison their world at least.

All factions of the former Resistance were at minimum willing to take in the milder cases of recovering addicts that the Hospital of Dreams had no room for since it had quickly filled as the weeks passed since the Queen had lost her throne. Overall, things were about on par with the outcomes he'd discussed with Caterpillar some months ago when they'd planned for Wonderland's freedom. All of these really had little to do with the report in his hand as he'd been informed daily about the status of his Kingdom and what could be done better.

No…this most recent report was far more sinister.

Members of the house of Diamonds that specialized in construction had been contracted last week to finally sort through the casino ruins for anything that could be salvaged for decomposition and then reused. What they'd found had been more troubling than Jack had been willing to entertain and made him feel less paranoid about his decision to send a small hand of Suits along with them.

Apparently some Oysters had escaped into the woods when the casino had collapsed and had therefore not been rounded up and returned home with the others. The strength of the fear and confusement they gave off was like a heady perfume to the darker creatures that existed in Tugley Woods and it easily drew them in, but they were the lucky ones. It appeared that a fair portion of the Oysters managed to escape the creatures but had been found by fleeing addicts who were trying to smuggle out their Emotion Teas after Jack had approved of the search and seizure of them in homes. Unlike Alice however, the marking on the Oyster's faces were all too easy to spot and the desperate tea-heads had quickly snatched any they could find before taking them back to the casino ruins and used what appeared to be methods of torture in an attempt to prize the much desired 'pearls' from their Oysters.

The ones that they found alive had already been driven to the madness that consumed a fair amount of the natives of Wonderland as it was.

"Do we have anyone checking the woods for any Oysters who may have escaped both the tea-heads and dark creatures?" Jack stated as he finally looked up from the horrifying report.

"Yes sire," The Minister of Clubs replied, "I authorized an additional hand to investigate the surrounding area for any survivors, but I was wondering..." The Minister hesitated fearfully and Jack calmly bade him to continue, "After all that they have been through, those missing may need some convincing to trust us and I was wondering if we could send some of the Converts that have stayed behind to join them. Be an ambassador of sorts you know?"

Jack thought upon the idea before slowly nodding his head in approval, "Yes…that might be good idea. Make sure whoever you get to go along is not only a volunteer, but of age. I won't have a child being dragged around the underbrush for this."

"Of course your majesty," the Minister bowed with a relieved sigh.

"So no developments as of yet though?" Jack inquired and the Minster shook his head.

"No sire, none as of yet, but it is as I said…they may just be fearful of us," the Minister relayed. The new King nodded and was about to dismiss the Club before the man spoke up once more.

"Although, one Suit did report seeing what appeared to be one of the Knights that, ummm, aided us a few weeks back but the figure vanished before he could confront it."

Jack shrugged unconcerned as he moved on to the next bit of paperwork on his desk, "I'm sure it was just Sir Charles. His camp, while not near, is also not so distant from the old casino that he may have wandered near by. He is to report in tomorrow and I shall speak with him then about this business anyway. Any missing Oysters may be inclined to listen to their rescuer as well."

"Yes of course sire, I shall tell the men not to worry."

* * *

It wasn't supposed to be like this, Hatter reflected as he set the teapot on the stove to heat up. Leaving Wonderland was supposed to end the mysteries and possibly dangerous surprises, which in turn would allow Harry, Alice and himself to lead as normal a life as one could in their state…not spring completely new and unexpected situations on them. He should have known better he supposed. No good deed shall go unpunished, eh? Of course, he did his best to appear like everything was under control for Alice's sake. Besides, what if this 'bank' place was a good thing? Yes, always look on the bright side of life. That should be his new motto on the other side of the Looking Glass; a new life, a fresh start and a not so calculated outlook at the world.

Maybe if he kept telling himself that it would come true…

Turning away from the stove, he could see Alice making a list of facts they could gather from the mysterious letter to ask whoever their Connecter to Wonderland had sent over when he or she arrived. A glance to the left of her revealed that Harry was continuing with his lunch, and was probably the least truly concerned person at the moment; trusting himself, and Alice, to take care of the situation.

It did little to ease Hatter's rising concern about this business when a muffed pop, followed by rapid knocking sounded on the other side of the door to his flat just as he was about to pour himself a cuppa. It couldn't have been more then fifteen minutes since he'd hung up the phone with the Connecter. He met Alice's glance of surprise before carefully setting the teapot down and making his way to the front door in just a few strides. Using the spy hole (another excellent invention here in the Oyster World) Hatter was presented with a slightly warped image of a young woman that couldn't be older than eighteen wearing a mish-mosh of clothing that Hatter had seen many girls her age wear in this city, but with short white-blonde hair. While she seemed harmless enough, the natural look of her unique hair color was a good enough tip off that this was actually the person they were looking for. He unlocked the door but left the chain latched as he opened it the few inches it would allow.

"Hello, can I help you?" Hatter asked nonchalantly as the girl whipped her head around from checking out the hallway, to giving him a look over instead.

"Hi," the unknown girl grinned flirtatiously, "I believe you were expecting me?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about," Hatter replied with a smile. While the sayings chosen for the pass code always seemed incredibly simple to him, the system was definitely not one to scoff at.

The girl groaned, "Ugh, you people and your stupid fucking passwords. Look, I'm here for a reading by Edwin and Mocar." She crossed her arms across her chest in a huff of frustration now.

"Really? Well, we're about to start William the Conqueror," Hatter politely offered and the girl smirked slightly at the adaptation of his part but rolled her eyes.

"I dare say," she responded in a forcefully imitated British accent, "that that, is the driest piece I know."

Well that checked out so far, ignoring the blatant attitude at least. Hatter scanned the hallway one last time, "Right then." He closed the door and undid the chain before opening it wide and allowing the girl in.

"Finally," she exhaled as she strode on through, "You Wonderlanders and your fucking ridiculous passwords. Once I turn twenty one, I am getting the _hell_ out of this loop."

Hatter finished locking the door and turned around to see her admiring the place while Alice and Harry filtered in; the former of the two looking unimpressed by their company. "Were you recruited from this side then?" Hatter pressed and the girl stopped her movement around the room to look back at him.

"I guess you could call if that," she scoffed before gesturing to herself, "You're looking at one of the few first-gen Earth born Wonderlanders. It's why they sent me over really…well," she faltered slightly but made an admirable attempt at recovery, "actually they sent for my Dad but he's busy at the shop so I'm his fill in. Better qualified for it anyway if you ask me."

"And who exactly are you?" Alice pushed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

The girl blushed slightly and gave her best pleasant grin it seemed as she moved over to greet Alice, "Err, sorry about that. Name's Abigail, but you can just call me Abby."

Alice took the offered hand with a touch of trepidation, "I'm Alice."

"Oh, sorry to hear that," Abby stated, much to Hatter and Alice's surprise before moving on to his younger cousin.

"Harry," he supplied as he shook her hand and the girl paused mid shake as she stared intently down at the lad.

"Have we met before?" she ventured.

Harry took his hand back and shrugged, "Since I've been living in Wonderland, I don't see how that's possible. Maybe it's just déjà vu from meeting my cousin yeah?" Harry inclined his head towards Hatter and Abby looked over her shoulder to see he had moved up closer to join them. Hatter could see her visually process the similarities between the two with a smirk of his own before she smiled at Harry and ruffled the fedora down on his head.

"You're cute kid, and if you turn into anything like your cousin here you be sure to give me a call in few years alright?" Abby quipped and Harry looked puzzled while he fixed his hat. Alice also seemed to be having trouble settling on any one emotion and looked at Abby much like she had looked at Hatter when they'd first met. It was comforting to know he wasn't the only one wary of their guest. "I suppose that makes you David then?" Abby looked at Hatter with another flirtatious smile.

Feeling the need to be in control of the situation, Hatter put on his own charming persona, "Supposed I'd have to be then wouldn't I?" Leading them all back towards the kitchen he offered, "Would you like a cup of tea?" sharing a smile with Alice as he did so.

Abby grimaced as she sat at one of the stools that were dispersed near the little island in his kitchen, "Ugh, no thank you. I hate the stuff. I'll take a Coke if you have it though."

Hatter's eyebrows rose in surprise along with Harry's while Alice seemed to smile before coming over and helping Hatter set up cups for the three of them at least. What kind of trustworthy person didn't like tea? Not to mention would actually prefer that entirely too sweet soda stuff that Hatter had allowed Harry to finish off after he passed on it. The sugar rush had been so intense that Harry had quite literally bounced around the place as if he'd overdosed on Excitement, while he played around with his magic and generally wrecked havoc around the flat.

A ban had been placed on the stuff immediately after that that Alice and Robert were only to happy to help enforce.

"Sorry, fresh out," he looked up from his pouring and saw that she'd didn't appear to upset by it, "So what's this big secret that they had to send one of you lot over to tell us about?"

Abby smirked, "Oh it's a big one. That letter you got, from Gringotts? It's your ticket to the hidden magical world here on Earth that you Wonderlanders didn't even know about until the first-gens like myself stayed here long enough."

"Okay wait a minute," Alice spoke up as she passed Harry his tea, "Are you saying that magic exists here, on Earth, and not just in Wonderland?"

"Exactly," Abby pointed at Alice before scrutinizing Hatter, "You must have some wizarding relations in your blood or I doubt you would have gotten a letter about anything." A sudden idea must have occurred to her then as she tapped a manicured finger against her chin in thought for a moment while giving Harry a look over, "Actually, how old are you?"

Harry glanced at Hatter, who shook his head once, before replying, "I'll be eleven soon enough,"

Abby furrowed her brow before slowly continuing, "You might have seen something this summer for him then from the Salem School of Magics to attend, but I'm really not sure since I've never met a Wonderland kid who's come through."

Alice gave Hatter a pointed look after that comment but didn't speak on it, for which Hatter was thankful, before looking at Abby once more, "Let's back up here. What did you mean by Wizarding relations?"

Abby shrugged, "Wizard is what we call ourselves since most of the muggles, oh wait you all call them Oysters I think, well whatever, since not everyone here can use magic like they can in Wonderland. For you to get a letter from the bank then you must have a relation who had business there at some point. I've been told they have monitoring charms for things like that."

"So you're a wizard then?" Harry asked with a touch of excitement that didn't surprise Hatter one bit. The kid loved magic after all.

"Girls are called witches, but yeah," she pulled out a bit of polished stick from her jean jacket sleeve that caused Hatter and Harry to exchange another marked glance. This one Abby finally caught though, "Wait, you've seen a wand before? They told me you guys knew jack shit about all this."

Hatter took a second to enjoy that slang term and it's possible uses before carefully replying, "We've seen one, but not in use and didn't even know what it was for really."

Abby smirked before pointing her proclaimed wand at Harry's cup of tea, followed by a twist and a flick down. The effect was instant as the cup and contents seemed to become a solid liquid together before changing color and reforming into a can of the soda Abby had requested earlier. Hatter blinked. It had certainly been a long time since he'd seen anyone decompose and remodel anything, let alone that quickly.

The girl seemed to enjoy playing to the crowd as she opened the can and it fizzed appropriately, "Transfiguration. That's about a third level spell, and quite popular back in Salem, even if the effects aren't permanent. It's one of Gamps Elemental Laws. You can do a temp change on food and drink into a different type, but it will eventually return to the state it was originally. If the kid does go the Salem he'll learn loads of spells like it and more." Abby took a sip of the drink before offering it out with a raised eyebrow, "You wanna test it?"

Harry's immediate grab was easily blocked by Hatter, though he didn't make a move to drink it, and Harry groaned dejectedly at his missed opportunity. "So what else do we need to know about this hidden society? Is it something to avoid?" Hatter really didn't need another situation like he'd just gone through back in Wonderland thanks very much.

Their guest waved a hand dismissively, "I doubt you'd be able to if you've received something from Gringotts, or at least not right away. It's run by goblins and they take their business very seriously. You can buy books and stuff you can read over for more information once you've set accounts straights at the bank. Other then that I can't really say, you probably would need to talk to my dad about comparisons to Wonderland since I've never actually been there." Abby tucked away her wand before pulling a small piece of paper out of her jacket pocket, and then passing it over to Hatter. "That's the business card for the family shop," she supplied, "You'll find him there during business hours, and I'm sure he'd be thrilled to talk to you."

Hatter gave a brief glance to information on the card before pocketing it; he was getting the feeling that their original informer was someone he'd have rather talked to over this slightly bothersome girl who clearly had lost interest in being here. He guessed it was because they didn't look more impressed by her display of magic, but it was admittedly hard to impress a group of people who'd had a hand in toppling the Queen's house of cards not a month ago.

"Goblins exist?" Alice asked with raised eyebrows, and Abby had a smug look on her face once more.

"All of that fairytale stuff they feed you in elementary school exists," the girl stated, "Goblins, Unicorns, Dragons, Giants, Fairies…they've got a whole book on magical creatures too if you're interested. It's part of the whole 'conspiracy'." Abby made a curling motion with two fingers on each hand as she relayed the last bit.

Looking over at Alice and Harry, he could tell Harry was just about bursting with interest at the idea of learning a new type of magic and Hatter could almost see the plans forming in his younger cousin's mind to pull out the rod they'd found while packing up the shop to see if it would do magic for him. Alice on the other hand was very quiet and had a contemplative look on her face as she reread the note that was the cause of all of this. Better thoughtful than outright denial he supposed, and Hatter could only speculate how well the idea that magic existed in her 'safeish' Oyster World was being accepted. Even though she'd eventually come to believe that Wonderland was more then just a kid's story, it was only after she'd seen and experienced things her logical mind couldn't explain away.

He had a feeling that one remodel wasn't going to be enough to win her over in the long run either.

Hatter himself was actually a tad relieved that magic existed here as well. He loved Alice to pieces (a concept and a feeling that still left him a bit in awe really) and had been willing to leave everything he and Harry knew behind to start a new life with her, so it was comforting to think that a bit of home might have followed him after all in a manner of speaking. Perhaps they even had housing wherever these wizards had hidden themselves? The girl had mentioned a school so there was clearly a need for shops at the very least. It had possibilities.

"So how exactly would I go about finding this magical community then?"

* * *

Much later that night, after Harry had bid the couple goodnight and gone to bed, Hatter was sitting sideways on the very comfortable sofa in his living room with Alice cradled between his legs and her back resting against his chest. Abby hadn't stayed for more than an hour before she claimed to have a prior engagement and begged off. Accomplishing the only looks of amazement at a display of magic in the process with her exit as she had disappeared from the middle of the room with a distinct popping noise that Hatter had recalled hearing out in the hall just before she'd arrived. Harry had remarked that that skill would have been dead useful about a month ago and Hatter and Alice adamantly agreed.

The hours immediately following had been filled with comparisons of what they knew of Wonderland magic with what little their guest had shown or explained to them for how it seemed to work on this side of the Looking Glass. Some things meshed but a fair amount of the details weren't close or they didn't have enough information on it to really compare. Hatter still thought the entire premise behind a bank to be utterly ridiculous. Trust a group of people he didn't know to hold the majority of his money and then have to politely ask for it back whenever he wanted some? Don't even get him started on the absurd concepts of gaining interest and processing fees, let alone the bare minimum Alice had shared of her knowledge of the stock exchange. She'd gone off to retrieve pain pills for the headache his reasoning had caused her after proclaiming they'd gotten sidetracked over an hour later. They did agree that it couldn't hurt to arrange a meeting with bank about the Potter account they referred to, but by then it had been time to work on dinner and Hatter suggested they continue the discussion afterwards; though he did make a point of sending the very waylaid dove off with his reply first.

"I've been working on a theory," Alice said slowly as she idly traced the lines on his hand, a motion he found very relaxing after their interesting day and therefore made no move to discourage it, "…but I don't think you'll like it."

"Oh?" he spoke up casually, "What've you got a bee in your bonnet about then?"

"Have you ever considered the possibility that you and Harry….might not be related?"

Hatter could feel her tense up as she waited to hear his answer and had even stopped playing with his hand. He couldn't blame her really. It was certainly something Reggie would have called a rude question at any rate. "Actually I have," Hatter replied so casually about it that Alice twisted so she could see his face.

"Really?" she clarified with a touch of surprise.

"Really and truly," he nodded before furrowing his brow slightly, "You seem shocked."

"Well I sort of am, I mean, hell I thought you two were related straight off the bat and I know I'd be insulted if someone suggested I might not be my mother's daughter or some such," Alice declared, "So why aren't you yelling at me or pushing me away yet?"

Hatter smiled and quirked an eyebrow at her, "Would it make you feel better if I did?"

Alice frowned, "No."

"Then why would I do something to move you from the fantastic spot that you currently occupy?" he smiled a little wider and slid his hand down her side to rest on her hips.

She rolled her eyes before poking him in the chest, "Don't try and distract me, I'm serious."

Hatter sighed but left his hands where they were, "It's just a fact I had to consider when I first took Harry in all those years ago but a friend of mine posed a question to me about it one night and after that," he shrugged, "I never thought of it again. Well not until now of course."

Alice tiled her head considering this, "What'd he ask you?"

"What makes you so sure it was a he?" Hatter challenged and Alice gave him what called her 'don't even try that' look so he relented, "Okay fine, HE asked if it would change anything if I found out we weren't related, if I wouldn't want anything to do with Harry anymore."

He watched as the realization of what his answer must have been came to her and a smile slowly spread across her face, "You know…I don't think you're nearly as successful at hiding your feelings as you think you are."

"Maybe I just don't feel the need to around you. I trust you love."

Alice grinned before leaning towards him, "That was an excellent response," she then softly placed a kiss on his lips that he was only to happy to return. She didn't let it last long though and easily pulled back to look at him once more, "but you're still not going to distract me that easily."

Hatter groaned, "I knew it couldn't be that easy. Right then, let's here your idea yeah?"

"Okay, so supposing you aren't related to Harry-"

"Yes we covered that bit already, do try to keep up."

Alice smacked him lightly on the chest but was still smiling, "If you're not, then it is very likely that the only reason you got that letter is because you're listed as his guardian right?" Hatter nodded. "And Abby said something about updating spells," she made a strange face as if just realizing she was using the word seriously for the first time, "So it makes sense that they would contact you if there is an outstanding will or inheritance of some sort."

"True," Hatter conceded to the logic in that, "but what about that line about a missing Potter line then?"

"Abby hinted that the Resistance never got very involved with the whole magical world here, and I doubt the Queen could've been bothered to research much of anything either, so according to their records, Harry has technically been missing for about three years," Alice reasoned.

"Look at you," Hatter grinned as he teased her, "I had no idea I was dating such a brilliant little Oyster."

Alice gained a mischievous gleam in her eyes and smirked as she lightly trailed a hand across Hatter's chest, "Oh I think you'll find I'm a woman of many, many talents."

* * *

Author's Comments: This is really only the tip of the iceberg of information so I figured it'd be best to disperse it across the first few chapters instead of just one big information dump. I hope you all approve. I tired to do the summary thing for the intro and it was horrible and just tossed. I will also try to limit the repetition of common Harry Potter knowledge and just summarize any general conversations about it. Coming up next? Time with Alice and our three heros visit Gringotts. I foresee a long chapter and a lot of information again so heads up.

Credit goes to Chibi Kaz for the title suggestion which I love. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll come back for more!

Posted 6/30/2010


	2. Accept that your life will never

Chapter 2:_ Accept that your life will never be normal and go from there_

"Matte!"

Alice released her fellow dojo instructor at the command from their Sensei and swiftly stood up to face her sparing partner before they each bowed to each other in respect, wiping off some of the sweat that had accumulated on her forehead during the last hour as she stood back up. Other pairings around the room had followed in suit and stood at the ready until their Judoka Sensei who owned the dojo dismissed them a minute later. Moving off the tatami mat with her partner, she noticed him wince as he inspected his elbow and tried to unsuccessfully work out the tension there. "Geez Alice, I'll need that elbow to play ball with my kid this afternoon," the man lightheartedly joked.

"You shouldn't have left it unprotected then Eric," Alice shot back with a smile before taking a large drain from her water bottle.

Eric chuckled half heartedly as he grabbed his own belongings from against the wall, "It couldn't have been exposed for more than, what… a few seconds? You just moved like the effin Tasmanian devil is what happened! Have you been working with weights to increase your speed or something?"

Alice felt her heart skip a few palpitations and her hand tensed around the plastic bottle at Eric's comment for a moment before she forced herself to be calm, "Umm, nope. Not that I know of. Guess you're just getting slow in your old age."

"Hey, forty one is not that old!" Eric protested and gave her a friendly shove. The light heartedness of it all helped calm Alice down and she smiled back at her fellow instructor before the sound of someone clearing their throat could be heard behind Eric. Moving out of the way and turning around to see who it was, both Alice and Eric stopped their teasing and inclined their heads at the man there; relaying a greeting of 'Judoka Sensei' together.

"Ms. Hamilton, may I speak with you for a moment?" the older man requested and Alice nodded her acceptance before waving goodbye to Eric. She looked back expectantly at her Sensei once Eric was gone and the man wasted no time getting started as he clasped his hands behind his back. "I have noticed an interesting change in you these past three weeks Ms. Hamilton and I wanted to talk with you about it."

Alice could feel a mild dose of fear tense inside her once more but did her best to stay calm. Her Sensei was just as good (and dare she say it possibly better) than Hatter was at reading people. "A change Neil Sensei?" she inquired as casually as she could.

The gray haired man before her nodded, "Yes, a good one that I feel stems from the disappearance of that one student from your weekday morning class you were seeing socially. A Mr. Chase I believe?"

Not really expecting this turn in conversation, Alice didn't even bother to hide the shock and even slight embarrassment that her Sensei knew about Jack. She'd thought she'd done a fairly good job at keeping her dating him hidden, but apparently not. "I'm sorry Sensei, I know we have a policy about-"

"I'd have to be not only blind, but deaf and dumb as well to believe everyone here followed that rule to the letter," Neil Sensei smiled slightly, "As long as things are kept discreet, and display remains to a minimum…I see no reason to speak up. Would I be correct in assuming that the two of you are no longer a couple though?"

Feeling she may have an understanding as to where this might be going, Alice attempted to give her explanation as quickly as possible, "Yes, we're not dating any more, but that's not why he left. He had…commitments, to honor back home. I did make sure to let the staff know the next day."

Sensei nodded understandingly, "Yes, I had heard, but what I am more interested in are the effects his leaving has caused in you. There is lightness about you most days since he left that I had not seen expect for on rare occasions before. It suits you and I can see the results here in my Dojo as well. Whether you are taking your commitment to Judo more seriously as a result of his leaving or something else, I must say that I approve of it. Happiness suits you Ms. Hamilton."

Alice felt herself returning a smile at his comment. It was true that after the emotional train wreck she went through in Wonderland that she had come out better for it and it felt good to know others could see that as well. "Thank you Neil Sensei," she inclined her head politely, "That means a great deal coming from you."

He inclined his head back before glancing at the clock on the far wall, "Well I do not wish to occupy too much more on your time, but I would like to say that I have also noticed your increased speed and fluidity of your moves in class. I believe you are ready to test for your third Dan and would be happy to do so at the end of the month with the others looking to increase their rank." Alice knew she was almost gaping at her Sensei in shock at such a recommendation and barely caught herself in time to return his bow as he made to leave. She remained in a thoughtful state as she made her way to the now empty changing rooms and switched clothes. Typically, a student would proclaim when they thought they were ready for their next rank and just test up for their next degree of black belt, so for Neil Sensei to recommend that she do so meant a great deal about where he saw her skill level. She wouldn't say no to the slight pay increase having her San-dan belt would bring either.

Of course thinking about the specific comments he'd made for her recommendation made her insides tense with concern again. Before moving to put on her last piece of clothing, Alice took the time to look at her right forearm. She ghosted a hand across where the glowing mark from Wonderland that branded her as an Oyster had been. The technicians that operated the Looking Glass had said it wasn't removable but that it would only be visible in Wonderland, so she wouldn't have to worry about it.

Alice did worry though.

Things seemed different, and she didn't just mean emotionally. Her reflexes felt faster, her movements had a grace they didn't hold before and until this morning she had just dismissed them as being delusional. Eric and Neil Sensei had both remarked upon it though and she could no longer write things off as a coincidence. Taking into account the eye opening events yesterday about magic existing in her word as well and Alice couldn't help but wonder if things were connected. Did something happen in Wonderland that she couldn't remember? Something that would explain all of this? Could there even possibly be something…wrong with her?

Alice let out a frustrated sigh and ran her hands across her face to cut off that train of thought physically. It wouldn't do to get freaked out yet. Besides, nothing felt wrong or in pain yet and who knows? Maybe Neil Sensei was right and it was just the positive turn in her life that was reflecting through other things as well. Making up her mind, Alice finished dressing and tossed all of her things in her duffel. She'd go over to Hatter's place to see if they'd heard back from that bank and deal with those issues first.

It would give her ample time to think about how to ask Hatter to get in touch with that Wonderland contact to ask about all of her concerns with out worrying him anyway.

* * *

"Here ya go Bob," Harry stated as he slowly deposited a mix of fresh fruit and oats into the rocking horsefly's food dish. The small creature whinnied appreciatively as it flew over to inspect the latest additions as Harry smiled and closed the latch on the cage. Bob had taken the trip through the Looking Glass pretty well considering they'd had to smuggle him inside one of the shrunken Mushroom Trunks, and Harry was thankful to have him along. It was a piece of his old home that he would have really missed. Of course, now that he knew magic existed on this side, it was possible that rocking horseflies lived here as well he supposed. Maybe he could get Bob a girlfriend so he wouldn't get lonely in his new, and much larger, cage. Alice certainly seemed to make Hatter happier than he'd seen him in a long time so there had to be something special about the whole thing. 'Course Alice was pretty special compared to the other woman Hatter had been with and Harry hoped finding a girlfriend for his pet wouldn't be nearly as trying.

Thinking about the magic community here on Earth gave Harry a thrill of excitement that had yet to truly diminish since he found out about it. While they seemed to have hidden themselves from the non-magicals here, Abby had mentioned several times that books about all sorts of subjects existed. Not to mention at least one school that he had a high likely hood of attending! He hadn't slept well last night as his imagination supplied visions of all the new and exciting abilities he might learn, and he didn't regret it for a minute.

Closing the plastic container that held Bob's food, Harry made his way back to the kitchen to get started on some breakfast for himself with a spring in his step. No sounds were coming from behind Hatter's door and Harry decided to sneak a quick peak to make sure his older cousin wasn't up and had received a reply already from the magical bank. He palmed the round doorknob from an extreme angle and slowly twisted his wrist around with the doorknob so the latch made almost no sound. Allowing it to open no more than the foot span of distance he already knew the hinges would allow before they squeaked, Harry was just able to make out Hatter's still prone form sleeping away under a tangle of bed sheets. It wasn't like his cousin to sleep this late and Harry wondered what the cause could be until he noticed the small pile of metal on the bedside table. Ah. That explained it. He closed the door just as silently as he opened it, but with the addition of a smile. At least he'd be able to pick the tea this morning then.

Walking the remaining distance to the kitchen, Harry was slightly surprised to see Robert was already up and dressed for the day and had begun pulling things out of the cupboards. Adjusting to living on Earth was difficult on all three of them, what with the constant twenty four hour days, the sudden shift to colder weather, and getting used to walking at ground level all the time now. Even though Hatter had been born and raised in Wonderland, and therefore had the least amount of experience with Earth, Robert would occasionally mix up what was proper conduct in Wonderland with his old memories, and was therefore having the hardest time adjusting since the culture he remembered had also changed subtly since he was kidnapped. Alice was of course doing her best to help all three of them adjust and Harry thought she spent more time at their flat than her own most days. Not that anyone was complaining though.

"Morning Robert," Harry greeted with a smile as he walked past the adult over towards the fridge.

"Good morning Harry," Robert turned to face him after pulling down a set of mixing bowls, "I thought since I'd finally woken up on time this morning, that I might treat you all to my famous 'Hamilton Hotcakes'."

Anything that had cake in the name naturally had his vote, and a quick look over at the flour, eggs, and milk he saw on the counter as he closed the fridge door only helped to reinforce that. "Sounds brilliant," Harry agreed and walked over, "Do you need any help then?"

Robert chuckled, "Seeing as how I haven't made these since Alice was your age, I'm not about to say no to an extra hand. In fact," he grunted as he dug out the much used iron skillet from one of the underside cupboards and placed it on the stove, "it'll probably feel a bit like old times."

Harry watched Robert's entire appearance become dim from reflecting on the memory his comment must have inspired and Harry could guess as to what it was about. "There wasn't anything you could do you know," he commented as he leaned against the counter, and Robert favored him with a sad smile.

"I know, and Alice has been a great help in reminding me," he sighed before a much more pleasant smile grew on his face, "Carol has done so much as well. She's been very understanding about this really and last night, she pulled out all of the family photos from the old days and the years I missed." He waved a hand at the cooking supplies on the counter, "All the reminiscing is what inspired me this morning I suppose, but enough about me. If there is one thing I remember about being a pre-teen, it's that I was hungry all the time."

Robert was grinning now and Harry was glad to see the man had returned to his good mood. "Yeah, I feel like I could eat a bandersnatch this morning," Harry easily admitted with a smile.

"Well I don't know about making that much, but these will definitely stick to your ribs," Robert stated before passing the kettle to Harry, "Why don't you fill this up first and set it up on the back burner so we can get that heating up for some breakfast tea. Then, I'll get you to mix the base batter while I keep looking for the rest of the add-ons. Where do we keep the jams by the way?"

* * *

Tap. Tap. Tappity-Tap Tap.

Hatter groaned and sat up in his bed to investigate where the bloody annoying noise was coming from. A yawn, stretch, and back crack later, he blearily opened his eyes to find his room a bit brighter than it should have been. Puzzled as to why his alarm hadn't gone off, the conman gazed down at his night stand to see the broken remains of his most recent alarm bells. Right. He'd smashed it the other day with his right hand as he was waking up and had forgotten to get a replacement thanks to all of the hullabaloo yesterday afternoon.

Tappity-Tap Tap Tap.

The noise was coming from his left window and once he'd realized that, he'd also figured what might be producing it. Lifting up the blinds there he was therefore pleased to see his suspicions confirmed as much like yesterday, a dove was sitting upon his window sill with another missive from that bank. Hatter promptly unlocked and threw open the pane, allowing the bird to flutter in, followed by a gust of chilled air, and it perched on top of his curving floor light. At this height it was very simple to remove the note and the dove gave him a cooing noise as soon as he did before taking flight back out the window. "Suppose that ones not waiting on a reply this time then," he commented to himself before re-latching the window shut. Making sure his sleep bottoms were knotted securely around his waist, Hatter padded out of his room and down a door to finish his morning routine before moving on to the kitchen where he could clearly hear that Harry and Robert were up and making breakfast.

As he made the short trip past the sitting room to join them, Hatter finally read the message that had woken him up this morning. The contents were just as brief and to the point as the initial one had been, but did reveal a small amount about the person that had sent it. Enough to give him an idea of how things might go this afternoon at any rate.

_Mr. David Hatter,_

_Thank you for your swift reply to yesterday's summons. I will become available to answer any questions and assist with guardianship issues pertaining to the Potter account today, at twelve o'clock precisely. Time is of course money, and if you are not announced by twelve fifteen then you will have to return tomorrow. The goblin at the front desk will be expecting you unless I tell him otherwise._

_The entrance closest to Gringotts can be found down the stairwell on the corner of West Houston Street and Thompson Street. In front of the building called the Hypnosis Center._

_Sincerely,_

_Tackruk the Menacing_

_Gringotts New York City Bank Manager_

He was fairly sure it was either an Oyster thing or bank thinking to relate time to money, but he could understand why they might find it so from a purely business perspective.

A deliciously sweet smell with slightly burnt undertones, and the easily identifiable sent of Harry's favorite tea greeted him as he rounded the corner to the kitchen. Robert was standing in front of the stove, attending to something in the pan, while Harry was sitting at the island, sipping from a mug of the fruity tea he favored. His cousin half turned around to smile at him before pushing a steaming mug in front of the stool next to him. "So, what are we up to this morning then?" Hatter smiled as he sat down in the offered seat.

"Oh, good morning Hatter!" Robert greeted before flipping over the object he was cooking, "I didn't hear you come in."

"Mmm, force of habit I'm afraid," Hatter replied before taking a sip of his tea, "Thanks for this by the way Little Potter."

Harry shrugged casually, "Not like I didn't know you'd want a cup." He smiled and inclined his head towards the small tower of what looked like very flat bread, "Robert's making us hot cakes today. Says he used to make them for Alice all the time."

"Oh yeah?" Hatter asked curiously and Harry shook his head once so he didn't press for more, "What's in them then?"

"Well," Robert slid the last flat disc on top of the others, "Now that everyone's here, I can make some up. Just pick out which jam you'd like and I'll get everyone set up." Both Hatter and Harry wanted the boysenberry flavor and watched as Robert quickly layered it with the 'hot cakes' he supposed before topping it off with some fresh fruit, and passing them a jar of syrup to coat them with. The syrup was something that Hatter quickly decided earned a 'less was more' policy, while Harry enjoyed coating his own stack quite thoroughly. Both cousins were quick to compliment the older man on his cooking though, with Harry being particularly charitable in eating the slightly burnt ones from the bottom of the pile.

They made light conversation about their plans for the day, which Hatter signaled Harry to be vague about. He planned on telling Alice's father about the magical side of things here once he himself had a better understanding of how it worked, but felt it wouldn't do any harm to omit it for now. The man really didn't need the stress anyway.

Just as the two cousins were cleaning up the breakfast mess while Robert went off to get a clean shirt and prepare his things for another day of job hunting, they heard a jiggle of the front door handle before Alice walked in; making sure to close the door firmly behind her. "Hey guys," she smiled as she set her duffel bag down by the door. Hatter couldn't fight the smile generated from the pleasure of her appearance and quickly dried off his hands before meeting her at the middle ground between the kitchen and the sitting room. There was a measure of male pride that ran through him as he caught her eying his half dressed form before he grabbed her around her hips. "Good morning lovely," he greeted her before leaning down to capture her lips in a brief, but very enjoyable, kiss.

Alice licked her lips (in a very desirable way if you asked him) when they pulled back, "Mmm, what have you been eating that tastes so good?"

Knowing that not only Harry, but Alice's father as well were both possibly in hearing range, Hatter decided not to follow that up with his first inclination and instead released his grip on her waist. "Your Da' treated us to some of his cooking this morning actually. Though I'm afraid any hopes you may have to score your own must be dashed as the bottomless pit there finished them off," he supplied, with Harry rolling his eyes as he finally joined them from finishing up the cleaning.

"I've still got growing to do. What's your excuse for that second helping?" his cousin shot back and made sure to stand just out of Hatter's reach on the other side of Alice; the cheeky bugger. "Morning Alice," Harry greeted with a smile that she easily returned along with her own greeting.

"So…have you heard anything back yet?" she posed and Hatter pulled the note from his pocket and passed it to her.

"Yup. Noisy little thing woke me up this morning," he supplied as she gave it a quick read over, "Seems pretty straightforward though yeah?"

Alice knit her brows in thought, "The entrance they give doesn't match up with how Abby told us to get there."

Hatter dismissed her concern with a shrug, "It does say that's the closest one and I don't know if you've noticed, but this is an awfully large city." She gave him an un-amused look at that joke. "Wouldn't make much sense if they limited themselves to just one spot now would it?"

Alice conceded to his logic and gave him the note back, "No, I guess not."

"So when do we leave?" Harry asked with what Hatter could see was thinly veiled excitement. He gave a glance at the nearest clock and noted they still had a some time until noon, but he would definitely want time to explore the area a bit before sitting for what he had the sinking suspicion was going to a long meeting.

"Let me throw on a few things and we can head out now if you like?" Hatter casually replied, and wasn't at all surprised when Harry excitedly cheered before pushing him towards the hall to 'hurry up then'. He exchanged a brief smile of amusement with Alice before moving under his own power back to his room finally.

* * *

Just under an hour later, Hatter stood at the aforementioned corner with Alice and Harry as they regarded what looked like one of the hundreds of below street level stairwells scattered throughout the city. "You know," Alice commented, "I feel a bit gypped."

"Why's that?" Harry inquired as he looked up at her.

She gestured to the stairwell before them that the majority of those passing by didn't seem to even notice interestingly enough. "I was just expecting some strange, or at least plainly obvious, doorway. Maybe one with glowing trees and cryptic riddles to gain entry. Instead it's very…anticlimactic."

Harry looked hopeful, "Maybe it's hidden after the first door?"

"Call me mad if you like," Hatter smirked at them, "but I think a showing like that might just defeat the purpose of a hidden society. You don't want just any old bloke wandering in off the street yeah?"

"I know," Alice conceded with a hint of a smile, "It just would have been nice if one of these worlds acted like a fairytale just once. I'm still holding out for the princess to be locked away in the highest room of the tallest tower though." Clearly her meaning was lost on him and she motioned for him to disregard it.

"You have some very strange fairytales here if that's a running theme," Hatter stated; rather intrigued by the topic now since he knew Wonderland was considered among them. No wonder his Alice had been confused if this children's story version had Alice of Legend as some damsel in distress.

Harry let out an irritated huff, "Are we just going to stand about here all day? I thought you wanted to check things out before our meeting?"

"No need to get your knickers in a bind Little Potter," Hatter smirked and flicked his cousin's fedora off balance before moving to the stairs, "Let's off then." Harry quickly bounded after him with Alice bringing up the rear as the group neatly descended the stairs, making sure to swing the door wide just in case someone was lying in wait behind it. The odds of this all being an elaborate set up were admittedly minuscule, but he'd thought the same thing about Dodo shooting him. Fool him once…

The door opened into a long wide corridor with simple lights lining the old fashioned brick walls. No off shoots from it could be seen in the distance, but Hatter made sure to run his hand along the side wall just in case there were any forced illusions. After a few minutes of walking a figure was finally visible at what was clearly the end of the tunnel. He was wearing what looked like a uniform of sorts with navy blue robes over a white button up and black trousers, sitting next to a small side table and reading a paper of some design. What was clearly a guard in Hatter's mind gave their group a quick glance and must have noticed the curious looks sent his way and he did a double take before setting down his paper.

"Can I help you folks?" the gruff sounding voice inquired politely.

"Just making our way to Mulberry Street thanks," Hatter smiled pleasantly as he came to a stop a few feet away and the guard regarded him intently before passing over to look at Harry and Alice. Abby had told them the name of the shopping district was some sort of joke, but Hatter didn't get it and he had a feeling the guard was looking for some sort of confirmation they were in the right area at any rate. You could almost pinpoint the moment a spark of realization came to the blue robed man as he studied Harry and his posture became relaxed once more.

"Ah, you'll be new additions then," he greeted them and smiled at Harry, "Just got your letter I suppose?"

"Yup," Hatter spoke up immediately for him, "Thought we might give the place a look about before making our way to Gringotts." Even though he was fairly certain they were both talking about different notes, the guard didn't need to know that and it wasn't as if he hadn't told the truth. Assumptions were always a tricky business.

The guard nodded understandingly before flicking a wand out from over the sleeve of his robe and pointing it at the door just past them. Except it apparently wasn't a door as the image melted away to reveal a sunlit staircase leading back above ground. Hatter could almost feel the excitement Harry was radiating at seeing a new trick. "Try not to get too carried away kid," the guard chuckled as he noticed Harry's expression and picked up his paper once more while nodding to both Hatter and Alice, "You folks have a nice day." Harry didn't seem to hear a word of it as he jogged past Hatter and up into the sunlight with Alice, yelling at him not to run off, following right behind. Hatter at least remembered to wave a parting thanks to the amused guard before catching up.

The stairwell emptied out in the middle of a large sidewalk like expanse that easily spanned ten feet with buildings of all sizes and designs surrounding it for as far as he could see. Almost as if someone had taken a few city blocks back in Tugley City and mashed them up so there'd be no risk of falling off a ledge. It was as equally comforting as it was disorienting to Hatter and once he took in his initial exposure, he could see that Harry had been struck by the sight as well and had an expression on his face that couldn't decide if it wanted to be awe, or shock. Alice didn't seem to be quite as badly affected and had the sense to pull the two of them out of the way so that a woman on one of those cordless phones could go down the stairs with out hitting them since she wasn't paying any sort of attention.

"Excuse you," Alice loudly called to her, but was promptly ignored.

She scowled before letting out a sigh and glanced about at the shops with them now, while Hatter took a moment to secure a hand on Harry's shoulder before he gave the place a closer look. The people wore a mixture of clothing that ranged from long robes and pointed hats to typical fashion in this city, and every mix in between. The combined colors of clothing and decorations left him dreading what the hat shops may look like. Though if it wasn't for the gaudy colors and interesting shop titles, Hatter wouldn't have suspected they were in any sort of magical district at all really. Their destination was the easiest to identify as it was by far the largest and most powerful looking building in the area, with its brilliant white coloring and long columns accented by the name Gringotts in large gold lettering. It amused him to see that most of the shops down the street appeared to have a love for alliteration with shops like 'Zeke's Zanies for all ages', 'Best Bargain Books', and 'Carpenter's Custom Cabinetry'. The latter of which sounded familiar, though he wasn't sure why.

"So where can we go first?" Harry questioned as he maneuvered out of Hatter's hold and attempted to pinpoint which shop was demanding his attention the most. Hatter pulled out his pocket watch and saw that it was already half past eleven surprisingly. He was about to comment that they should just look at maybe a shop next to the bank when Harry grabbed a hold of his jacket sleeve and started pulling towards one. "There! Let's go there alright?" he proclaimed and Hatter pulled him back instead.

"Easy now Little Potter. No need to rush. Shops not going anywhere yeah?" He calmly reasoned before seeing what store he wanted to go into and was a bit puzzled by his choice but since it was only a few doors down from the bank, saw no reason why it wouldn't be as good of a choice as any other on their limited time. Hatter held out his hand for Alice and then gestured for Harry to lead the way.

Stepping inside the shop, they were immediately assaulted with the sounds of dozen upon dozens of animals. It was dimly lit and Hatter strolled along the cages and crates with Alice just taking in the various creatures, though none seemed as fantastical as Abby had hinted at the day before. The diverse selection of cats represented here made him distinctly uneasy as a fair amount of them appeared to be watching him rather intently. Harry's actions were in sharp contrast to Hatter's casual observations however as he'd started out excited, but it quickly became apparent that he had a certain objective to coming in here when his good mood vanished. Puzzled and slightly pout out, Harry approached a bored looking teenager lounging behind the sales counter.

"Pardon," Harry spoke up and the teen swiveled her head around to look at him, "Do you have any rocking horseflies?"

"Umm, what?" she asked confused.

"You know, a tiny flying horse about so big," he held his hands the required space apart, "Has wooden rockers connecting it's feet?"

It was quickly apparent that the teen thought Harry was either mad, or pulling a prank as she sighed and went back to looking bored at her nails, "Look kid, I was required to memorize Scamander's book for this job, and there's no mundane or magical creature like that. So why don't you stop wasting my time." She glared at him briefly before Harry shoved off and walked over to Hatter. His heart went out to his cousin at the dejection clearly visible in his body language. Harry had been fascinated with the little flying things since he first laid eyes on one and had then spent weeks capturing any that flew in the shop. Having his whole life flipped sideways recently had distracted him from the loss, and had been holding out hope for finding more apparently.

"Come on then Harry," Hatter placed a consoling hand on his shoulder, "You can't have expected everything to cross-over yeah?"

"Yeah I know," Harry shrugged, "but it would have been nice."

"Well, maybe I can get some more," Alice posed and Hatter raised an inquiring eyebrow at her, "I mean it's my fault you lost everyone but Bob anyway."

"You really think Jack is gonna just, let you bring something like that into this world?" Hatter posed skeptically, "Especially when he learns it's a favor for us?"

She set her hands on her hips defiantly, "And why not? I mean he has to know you brought Bob along right?" Oops.

"Hey don't we need to get to the bank?" Harry suddenly spoke up to try and distract Alice, "Hatter said he didn't want to be running late yeah? I'm sure we can figure this out later, it's no big deal, honest!"

Hatter mentally thanked Harry for the help and he could see it slightly worked as Alice seemed to become thoughtful and allowed herself to be led back outside easy enough, but she had glanced at him with narrowed eyes first. He could only hope whatever the bank had to tell him would be distracting enough for her not to remember this messy business until later. Goddesses help him if she found out about everything he'd smuggled through the Looking Glass because of this.

The short walk over to the bank was filled only by the noise of the hundreds of people that meandered about on Mulberry Street, and their small group easily maneuvered through them. Just as they were about to ascend the few steps that led to the main door, Hatter caught sight of two creatures standing out front that made him stop cold in his tracks. He quickly grabbed a hold of Alice and Harry to keep them from getting any closer and pulled them back a few feet. Did these people not know the danger they were in!

"Hatter, what the hell?" Alice demanded as she stepped out of his hold and looked around, "What is your problem?"

"Did you not see them?" he asked incredulously and Alice followed his gaze to look at the two vicious creatures standing guard outside the bank doors.

Surprise filtered across her face as she noticed them for the first time and Hatter felt a wave of relief to see it, until her look became one of curiosity instead. "Okay," she supplied and faced him again, "I have to admit I expected them to be more ferocious looking thanks to weta workshop, but I don't see what you're getting so worked up about."

"Are those goblins?" Harry wondered out loud as he tried to peer around the two of them to get a better view.

Alice nodded, "That's my guess." Her eyes widened momentarily in realization, "Hatter, do goblins exist in Wonderland?"

He had been focused on the bank entrance since he'd pulled them back and noticed the creatures hadn't attacked any of the people coming or going yet, so he was willing to admit his first conclusion may have been wrong...but the resemblance was likely to make this trip a shade more difficult. "Possibly," he stated a little calmer now, "I may be wrong but, these goblins bear a striking resemblance to the Vermicious Knids of Northern Wonderland." Hatter let out a sigh to try and calm himself further and looked back at Alice before elaborating, "They wiped out an entire race of peaceful Halflings about a hundred years ago and the Queen of Hearts enacted one of the only policies I agreed with, and that, was to kill those creatures on sight."

She was clearly taken by surprise from his story, while Harry developed a look of understanding at this new bit of information. Hatter had of course warned Harry about them, along with many of the other dangerous creatures in Wonderland, but encounters with one in the city had become exceedingly rare in the last decade or so. "Well…let's just assume they're different for now," and she held up a hand to hold off his argument, "'Cause seriously, you've been getting letters from one since yesterday. Did the Vermin, Vermil-"

"Vermicious Knids"

"-were they just wild animals? Or were they more…human like?" she finished and Hatter could see the point she was trying to make as it was a very important one. He couldn't say for sure, having only ever seen one once, but they didn't seem much like the business type. More like the gnaw off your ears type really.

"Okay," he agreed, "You've got a point there. Let's get this done with then." Even with that established, Hatter was still inwardly wary of the creatures and easily fell back on his subconscious habits to constantly be aware of all exists in his surroundings and paid little attention to the detailing of the doors as he entered; his right hand clenching and relaxing in constant intervals.

The interior was very open and cavern like, similar to the Hospital of Dream's foyer, but everything was smooth gray marble instead. It felt very much like a tomb and not at all comforting and spacious to Hatter. Two lines of sales counters ran down the length of the hall with dozens of these 'goblins' sitting behind them running transactions while customers queued up in roped off areas in the middle; this made the one desk partitioned off to the side near the entrance their likely target. Hatter did have his moment of planned satisfaction though as he walked up to the desk at exactly noon. He cleared his throat and the long nosed creature looked up from his already propped up seat with disdain.

"What do you need?" it ground out in a high pitched but gravelly voice.

"David Hatter to see a Mr. Tackruk," he replied simply and the goblin's look briefly shifted to an appraising one, before shooting curious looks at Harry and Alice.

"Follow me then," it commanded as it hopped off its stool and started walking rather quickly down the closest hallway, without bothering to check if they were actually following.

Hatter exchanged a look with Alice at that but didn't comment about it as they moved to keep up, "Let me do all the talking you two unless you think of something that I haven't asked about alright?" Hatter whispered and both Alice and Harry easily agreed, but Alice's look promised she would actually be covering anything he might not think of.

The hallways they traversed were all sharp angles with minimal decorations. The doors were all similar designs with different name plates and Hatter counted sixteen of them before the creature they were following stopped to enter the first one off the third hallway. Tackruk's name plate above suggested that it was indeed the office they were looking for. Looking around the room as he entered first, Hatter was only slightly surprised to see the minimalist theme had continued here, though the furniture that filled the space was easily identifiable as being made of high quality materials. A small conference table with six seats filled the immediate space with bookshelves containing similar looking leather bound journals on the far wall.

"David Hatter and…guests, to see you Senior Bank Manager," their escort briefly bowed to the clearly older goblin behind the desk. It raised one eyebrow in Hatter's direction before waving off the underling, who closed the door upon his departure; a dim glow surrounding the edges of it once it was fully shut.

"Since I did not mention that a witness or that Mr. Potter would be required for this meeting," Tackruk droned as he gathered paperwork together on his desk without looking up at them, "I am therefore left to deduce that the things we will discuss today are not subjects that you would keep from either party. Is that correct?" He shot a pointed glance at Hatter and he had the most peculiar feeling that he was being scolded like a naughty child. Still, he knew what answer these types wanted.

"I trust these two with my life," Hatter stated seriously, "Not to mention this will directly affect subjects you mentioned in your first note."

Tackruk paused to inspect him once more, "You may speak freely in this room Mr. Hatter. It has been sealed from all listening devices and business concerning Wonderland is new business. We shall first start with old business." He snapped his fingers and a ledger from one of the book shelves joined the formidable stack of folders on the elderly goblin's desk. He slid out of the raised chair and the stack followed as moved out from behind his desk. Seeing the rest of the goblin helped ease Hatter's concerns about connections to the monstrous creatures of Wonderland as it wore an elaborate suit, complete with waistcoat, and had half moon shaped glasses perched upon it's nose. Perhaps the two races were distant cousins and these ones just had the unfortunate happenstance of looking like the other while having much milder disposition. "Seat yourselves promptly as you see fit and we shall begin," the goblin commanded as he walked over to sit at the head of the table. Or they just channeled it all into violent business dealings. Hatter had a feeling Dodo was about to seem like a sweet little bread and butterfly comparatively.

* * *

Almost as if they planned it, Hatter slid into the seat closest to the goblin's right with Harry beside him, and Alice took up the one on the creature's left; both adults in a prime position to retaliate if things went sour. The large pile of documents settled on the floor between Hatter and Tackruk who snapped once more, causing the large leather bound tome to leap onto the desk from the top of the pile. It fell open and the pages rapidly turned before stopping just over the half way point.

Tackruk ran one gnarled finger down the page to the line he was looking for, "As of October 25th 1999, Gringotts records Harry James Potter is listed in the mundane records of Britain as being under the care of one David Hatter after taking custody from a Petunia Dursley, formally Evans. Magical records displayed no changes to the Potter file until October of the following year, where upon they reflected a strange gibberish of text that we have come to associate with information tracked to Wonderland, and a trigger ward was placed upon the account to go off when status had been updated. This occurred on the 21st of March, 2001. Another trigger alarm was enacted at the same time as the Potter files claimed an additional member, the formally mentioned David Hatter, in conjunction to the last will and testament of Charlus Potter."

The goblin looked up from his book to see only mild surprise and curiosity on the faces around him, "Gringotts can not prove what methods were used to falsify your mundane records in both Britain and America, but we know a time turner was not involved and has little bearing on the matters today, other than our recommendation that you procure a set for the magical world as well. Gringotts can of course provide this service for a nominal fee."

"How is it you have a way of tracking people back to Wonderland?" Hatter spoke cautiously, "I know for a fact, that travel between the two worlds is strictly monitored."

Tackruk smirked, "It is a service that only Gringotts can provide but that information is related to new business, and I will not answer that question at this time. Now before we may continue," he pulled a small dagger from his jacket pocket that caused all the humans present to tense before setting it down in front of Hatter, "I will require both yourself and Mr. Potter to place a drop of blood on our records to verify that you are indeed who you claim to be and not under some sort of guise."

Hatter considered the knife before slowly picking it up and looking back at Tackruk, "And if we aren't who we say we are?"

Here Tackruk gave a vile grin that revealed rows of sharp pointed teeth, "Rest assured that Gringotts, does not take kindly to cheats…Mr. Hatter."

Clearly this did little to assure any of the humans but Hatter and Harry did provide the requested sample, with Harry healing over their cuts easy enough. The tome flashed blue with each addition and Tackruk gave a grunt as he inspected the results, "Everything appears in order." He pulled out the top folder from the stack of paperwork that was easily an inch or two thick. "These forms state your acceptance to manage the Potter Estate, as the oldest living descendant, until Harry Potter as a direct descendant of the family line becomes old enough to claim the title."

"I'm what?" Hatter interrupted and Tackruk looked him over with a weighted gaze.

"You are unaware of your lineage," he stated more than asked and Hatter quirked an eyebrow.

"You think I'd be asking if I wasn't?"

Tackruk scowled at him before snapping and a paper from somewhere out of the stack on the floor landed in plain view of the three humans. "As you can see from the hereditary tree the addition of your blood has provided, you are descended from the minor Potter branch as your grandfather, Archibald Potter, was the younger brother to Charlus Potter." Reactions from the three humans present followed in a similar vain of surprise, comprehension, thoughtfulness, and then happiness as they exchanged smiles in varying degrees of delight. Tackruk allowed them this for one minute precisely. "If you are ready to proceed…" he droned.

"Right," Hatter smiled back at him in a friendly manner, "You were saying something about how I'm the account holder until Harry is the proper age then?"

Tackruk inclined his head slightly at the sufficient summary, "Indeed. The exact summary of the Potter account holdings have been assembled for your perusal on your own time." He gestured to the stack of documents on the floor and Hatter's smile faltered.

"All of that's just paper work of what I own?" Hatter inquired and Tackruk could see it was not a task the man was looking forward to.

"It is a collection of any legal or finical dealings the Potter account has had with our guild since their first vault was opened many centuries ago," he informed Hatter before moving on, "Gringotts will of course assist with any clarification you require after your inspection, as there has not been a Potter managing the account since the death of James and Lily Potter approximately ten years ago."

"Wouldn't the Dursley's have had access?" Harry spoke up and looked at Hatter who nodded his approval before staring at Tackruk.

The goblin removed two scrolls of parchment from the pile and unfurled the thinner one, "In accordance with British wizarding law, a person lacking in magical ability is not permitted to own or operate a vault at Gringotts. A stipulation was prepared to assist in the costs of raising Harry Potter in accordance with the last will of James Potter, but all letters to arrange an account for their use through one of Gringotts many mundane controlled banks were never answered. As such, the stipulation was deferred to London branch vault number 687 until the situation changed."

Tackruk set aside James Potter's will to retrieve the scroll next to it, "The nest set of forms in the folder before you Mr. Hatter detail your direct inheritance as a descendant of Archibald Potter, per the will of Charlus Potter. This is of course the trigger your change in residency caused. The final forms on the bottom detail the initial proposal that I mentioned at the beginning as Gringotts believes it is in your best interest."

Hatter had been scanning the documents in said folder as Tackruk mentioned them and flipped forward a few pages to look over the last set, "And this says what precisely?"

"For a nominal fee, Gringotts will create the necessary documentation to collaborate the mundane identity you have already established in the magical world, including the guardianship of Harry Potter. For a slightly larger sum," he continued, "we will back file these documents in our records as well."

Hatter was silent for a minute as he digested this. "How much are we talking for all this then?" he finally asked.

Tackruk sneered for a tiny fraction of a moment before turning the tome before him around so that Hatter could read it and pointed to the number at the bottom of the far right column, "A service that requires back filing would cost less than half a percent of the Potter account's current holdings." Hatter's eyes widened at the sight before knitting in concentration while Harry and Alice tried to slyly catch a glance at the total before Tackruk turned it back around.

He flickered his gaze up at the goblin, "And what other fees might I acquire with any of this other paper work then?"

"As the remainder of the paper work before you deals with wizarding inheritance laws, Gringotts is unable to charge a fee for its processing," Tackruk grunted with a frown before sending a sly gaze back at Hatter, "Of course…the process is a long and complicated one, so it may take some time to complete."

"I see," Hatter nodded slowly in understanding and the two stared at each other for an unknown length before Hatter spoke up once more, "A thirtieth of a percent and I want it finalized by the end of the week."

Tackruk sneered, "One percent and finished in two."

"You clearly have a means of turning back time," Hatter stated, "Half a percent and a week."

"A ninth and it will just barely be above an insult," Tackruk shot back.

"A Sixth"

"An eighth"

"Seventh a percent"

"Three quarters a percent"

"Done," Hatter smiled and Tackruk eyed him appraisingly as he began to sign the documents before him. Closing the folder with a flourish, Hatter passed it over to the goblin, "On to new business yeah?"

Tackruk swiftly scanned the documents in the folder before nodding and dispersing them to the proper departments with a snap of his fingers. "There is one issue left before new business," he drawled before turning back a few pages in the large tome, "As your current residence is outside the British Isles, I am required to inform you that tuition for Harry Potter's attendance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was arranged in advanced in accordance to James Potter's will. As it was an act by the primary Potter line, you do not have the authority to reverse it and will paying for nothing if you so chose not to move back to England."

Hatter appeared pensive as he exchanged a silent conversation with Alice with his look, and it was she who broke the silence. "Does he have to make a decision today?" she inquired quietly.

"No decision need be made if you so desire," Tackruk replied in a rather bored tone. "I was merely required to inform you of the financial commitment. Further inquires will be directed to Hogwarts Headmaster, or Assistant Headmistress. Now, on to new business," he closed the tome and waved it back over to its place on the shelves, "Due to your…unique situation, you are the first confirmed former residents of Wonderland that we have been successfully able to contact; though many others have been suspected in recent years."

"How do you know about Wonderland anyway?" Hatter posed with a tense expression.

Tackruk smirked, "The Goblin Nation is the only race to have successfully locked a rabbit hole in place." The goblin enjoyed the shocked faces on the members of the Potter clan before continuing, "It is what allows our magic to track locations there to some extent."

"Regrettably," Tackruk grunted, "There is something about the magic of that world that prevents one of my race from remaining there for any length of time without losing control of our facilities."

"You go mad," Harry stated quietly and Tackruk grunted once more.

"Unfortunately."

Hatter eyed the goblin wearily for the dozenth time or more since they sat down, "So what sort of deal are you looking to make then exactly?"

* * *

Harry sat upon the bed in his room gazing up at the full moon, with his arms loosely wrapped around the legs pulled up against his chest. It was long past dinner and he'd begged off staying up, claiming tiredness, to be alone so he could try and get a handle on organizing his thoughts. The events at the bank all those hours ago weighed heavily on his mind and while many wonderful things had come out of the meeting (chief among them the conformation of Hatter as his family of course) several ghosts from his past had been dug up as well. Things that Harry thought he'd put behind him and couldn't hurt him any more. The worst had actually happened when they'd gone home though.

It had him feeling eight years old all over again.

He ran a hand through the hair on his hat free head as he looked down at the picture in front of him. Hatter had found it near the top of the pile of paperwork that he'd taken a cursorily glace through when they got back to the flat. There were more attached to an investigation report from the night he'd become an orphan, but all of those were very unpleasant to look at and had quickly been tucked away. Unlike the pictures taken by the instant camera Hatter had, ones in the magical society here moved and could react to events in the real world to a certain extent.

This particular one contained something he'd longed to see before he met Hatter…his parents. His father, with Harry's own messy black hair that lacked a proper hat to keep it in check and his mother, with bright green eyes that were sure to haunt his mirrors in the coming weeks. They were wearing wedding clothes of some sort and would often look fondly at each other, or exchange small kisses when they weren't waving to the viewer. Harry felt his heart catch in his throat as they turned to do just that, with his mother even blowing a kiss in his direction. He could feel the hot prickle of tears on the edge of his vision building up again and quickly looked back up at the moon to try and hold them at bay.

What was he getting so worked up about? He knew, had known for years even, that his parents were dead. What did it matter that some shadow of who they once were remained that could acknowledge him and smile at him and make him feel…

Harry blinked and a set of tears trailed down his cheeks that he quickly rubbed away and took one deep shuddering breath. No sooner had he done so, a soft rapping sounded on his door and Harry whipped his head around to see Hatter leaning against the open door frame there, still wearing his normal clothes, "Hey Harry," he softly spoke, "mind if I join you?"

"Uh yeah, sure," Harry mumbled as his cheeks burned in embarrassment that he hoped were hidden by the dark.

Hatter silently crossed the room and casually flopped on to Harry's bed, shuffling backwards once he did so that his back rested up against the wall, "So I can see that whole going to bed early thing really worked out for you yeah?"

Harry snorted unexpectedly at the joke but remained quite otherwise, and Hatter didn't press him to do otherwise. The two of them sat in companionable silence for what had to be several minutes until Harry lifted his head to rest his chin on his knees. "Do you ever miss them?" he asked and turned his head enough just to make out Hatter's shrug.

"It's hard to miss what I can't really remember but, when I was lad, I missed what I could've had," Hatter supplied as he toyed with his porkpie hat, "It wasn't very often you saw a happy family that wasn't well past painting the roses red even then, but when I did…well, you didn't need a reason, or an excuse to attend a Tea Party, but everyone had theirs."

There was another bout of silence as both cousins were lost in their respective thoughts and memories.

"I used to hate them sometimes," Harry added as he picked up the photo off the bed, "When things got bad and I'd be locked in that dirty old cupboard. I hate them for being drunkards and dying on me. Leaving me with the Dursleys who hated me for no reason I could find and then today at home…when we looked at that file and found out that was just another lie..." His breath was beginning to hitch again and the annoying prickling behind his eyes started up with it. Harry felt Hatter's comforting presence pull him into a one armed hug against his side.

"I can't say what they would or wouldn't have done Harry, but I know for a fact, that they wouldn't hate you just for thinking a nasty thought or two about them," Hatter proclaimed before giving him a wry smile, "Probably wouldn't be too thrilled with me thanks to some of the tricks I've taught you of course, but you? No… you they'd love."

Harry disentangled himself from around his legs to give Hatter a fierce hug that his older cousin was quick to return, even if Harry was likely ruining his shirt with his silent tears and sniffling. Hatter rubbed soothing circles along Harry's back as he held him until Harry felt calmed once more and pulled back to wipe his face clean of the little breakdown he'd had, "Thanks Hatter."

"Think nothin' of it," he smiled and ruffled Harry's hair before plucking the wedding photo off the bed where it'd fallen out of his grip, setting it on the night stand near the head of Harry's bed. "Come on then, we'll talk more in the morning if you like, but it's well past time to head off for the land of nod for either of us."

* * *

Author's Comments: I was fairly certain this chapter was to be the death of me. Longest I've ever written and packed full of drama, plot threads, humor, and emotional upheaval. Feel free to play spot the pop culture reference as I enjoy sprinkling them about and seeing if anyone notices. ^_~ We don't get to see any thoughts during the information dump at Gringotts as it was already a lot to take in, and inner turmoil would have just dragged the scene to a snail's pace in my opinion. You start to see some of the reactions here in this last scene with Harry, (I got emotional writing it so I hope someone else out there does as well T_T) but we will see them in the chapters to come. Caught some spelling errors with a fresh look this morning, but if you see any feel free to let me know about them. Poor typing skills is one of my many curses.

I do want to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who have already reviewed/favorited/or put me on alert and then offered such awesome suggestions so I hope you like what I did with them! When I saw I'd gotten 18 reviews in three days, I think I squealed like a fan girl because my inbox was overflowing. It is for you all that I got this finished tonight. :nods: ^_^ Lastly, for those of you who don't already know, I now have a live journal account (link on profile) and am using it for posting ideas on future scenes and just about anything related to this AU I've created here. Probably worth a look and you are welcome to add me as a friend.

Posted 7/10/2010


	3. There are no answers

Chapter 3: _There are no answers, only cross-references_

While not his normal upbeat self the next morning, Hatter was pleased to note that Harry wasn't completely downtrodden from the upheaval their lives had experienced yesterday, and had even asked if he could help Hatter look over and sort through their family history. Hatter certainly wasn't about to turn down any help with that massive pile of paperwork and happily agreed. That had been an enjoyable benefit of the Queen of Hearts' rule, little to no paper work except for what he made for himself and something he occasionally missed in this paper filled world. He considered the lack of her oppressive rule worth the opportunity cost though. Having an actual family history as well was a novel enough concept that he found he wasn't quite dreading it like he thought he would. Until yesterday he could count those he thought of as family with one hand. Now he had files that detailed in some part the lives of those who had led up to his own, and with that came a sort of comfort that only being around Harry, and now Alice, had ever brought him.

"So how do you want to start this?" Harry prompted as he brought the last section of paperwork into the sitting room from the office.

Hatter eyed the three one foot high stacks appraisingly for a moment. "I say we divide and conquer to start," he stated, "Let's separate the new out from the old for both accounting and legalities and then work backwards. Can't imagine our centuries old ancestors did anything that would have much of impact now yeah?"

After about three hours of sorting, they had separated the paperwork into four main piles. Recent legal documents, old account statements that don't matter, account holdings for the past twenty years, and things they couldn't understand or were too old to care about. This left the pair with two much more manageable folders with one containing their current monetary holdings and assets; while the larger folder held their copies of the wills, court documents, and criminal investigation records. Including one amusing entry Harry had glanced at while sorting that stated one of their ancestors had been arrested for public indecency over thirty times during the course of his life; resulting in a much diminished inheritance according to the attached will.

Knowing that the collection of legal documents held the information that had upset his younger cousin last night, Hatter delegated that Harry would examine the ledgers as a true test of his accounting skills, requiring him to double check any problematic figures before questioning Hatter about it. His younger cousin had taken to math fairly well thankfully, and it was made all the more easier as it was the only subject Hatter had any extensive learning in beyond reading comprehension. All other subjects had been learned on a case by case basis based off what he got as payment from the Resistance or, very rarely, as payment for Emotion Tea.

With Harry thoroughly occupied with transfers and balances, this left Hatter with the much more daunting task of reading through the wills that had landed them in this mess. Just to make sure there would be no more surprises on that front. They must've truly used up all of their luck during their escapades with Alice over a month ago though as a few curiosities stood out to the conman at once during his perusal.

The most harmless one being that his great uncle had apparently never believed Archibald Potter had disappeared as a child, and had written a lengthy apology into the will for all the teasing he'd endured as the less talented, and more cowardly of the two brothers. Making his amends in the afterlife by ensuring that should Archibald or his direct descendants resurface, they would have a firm grounding to start up a life with. It was certainly a gesture Hatter would take advantage of for while the direct money conversion estimate Alice had given from that 'internet search' she performed assured him he'd be able to set himself with a proper business easy enough based on what he'd brought, he wasn't about to say no to a bit of real land and a tidy sum of gold. Hatter made a side note to look into converting his Wonderland coinage into that used by the magical world on this side. Robert and Alice could assure him all they liked that their paper money was worth something, but now that he had an option to use a currency similar to one he was familiar with? Hatter felt the choice had been obvious really.

While that will had been informational, it was the more recent entries that had peaked Hatter's curiosity, and both of them were related to deaths of Harry's parents. Just as there had been legal or criminally related documents in the 'too old to care about' pile that effected past inheritances, there was also one regarding the investigation of the murder of James and Lily Potter. Unlike those other files however, this one was quite clearly incomplete. Almost as if someone had started to study the event, found an answer they liked, and then didn't bother to write it down for any one. The few photos attached (except for the one now residing on Harry's bed stand of course) depicted a repeating cycle of battle damaged rooms and the vacant stares of the deceased parents, including detailed descriptions for the likely causes of death…but no follow up. Oh they had the murder's name, some bloke called Voldemort it seemed, but no explanation for how he was stopped or possibly killed. Then there was the curious note scribbled near the end that a Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were to be sought for questioning, but once again, no conclusion as to how that turned out.

The mystery grew when Hatter looked over James Potter's will and found only more questions instead of possible answers.

Much to the conman's displeasure, the Dursley family had actually been listed as an acceptable home for Harry should anything happen to his parents, but, they were at least last on that list. The first person charged with his care was one of the names listed on the investigation report, Sirius Black. The man was apparently Harry's godfather and while Hatter wasn't quite sure what the exact definition of the title was, he could hazard a reasonable guess that it was a title bestowed upon a person who could be considered close enough to be family. Guardianship of Harry was then to fall to the Longbottom family if Mr. Black was unavailable, and finally the Dursleys. The previously noted Remus Lupin was to be granted unrestricted visitation rights, but not custody for some reason.

Cleary this Sirius Black person was a well known friend… so why had he been unwilling or unable to care for Harry? What about Remus Lupin? Another person who Hatter could assume knew the couple, but one that was only granted visitation and not guardianship? Visits Hatter felt fairly confident had never happened as Harry never once mentioned the man. Then this Longbottom family as well…

Clearly Hatter was missing a large piece of information here and it left him feeling equal parts confused, frustrated, and highly suspicious.

Those goblins could possibly help fill in the gaps, but he was leery to return before having a response to their proposal. Knowing that he would be going into a meeting with the new King of Wonderland holding all the cards about this deal gave him a smug sense of satisfaction though. Hatter had always enjoyed being on top of important information. Beyond the necessity to do so to keep his head attached, information was always the preferred currency to pay the likes of Dodo with. Supplies may have fed the Resistance for a few days or weeks, but a tip off would keep them alive long enough to enjoy them.

He'd already contacted his Connector to arrange a meeting with the King as soon as possible to state the goblin's dilemma, and their proposition for cooperation within the kingdom should the first issue be resolved. It was a mess of politics really from what he could gather, and Hatter was eager to pass it off to some lucky Suit if Jack decided to consider it. Hatter had enough on his plate with the mess from this sudden inheritance he'd discovered today alone and it was something that he sincerely hoped would be easy to solve. And to think, he'd almost considered calling this world dull not a few days ago.

* * *

"Thanks for lunch today Dad," Alice smiled as they walked down the hall towards Hatter's apartment, "It was a nice surprise to see you suddenly lurking in the back of my class this morning."

Robert returned the grin a bit sheepishly, "I was hoping you'd take a little bit longer to notice I was there with the other parents, but I should have known you were too observant for that. You were wonderful with those kids by the way. I know I seem to be saying it a lot lately, but I'm so proud of you Jellybean."

He had been, and Alice was thankful for it as her heart only skipped a beat or two now when he did, and was only accompanied by the hint of a blush. "Thanks. It helps when you've got kids who actually want to learn," she elaborated as she fished the keys out of her jacket pocket, "I had one last quarter who quit after the second class when I told him it would take years to become a black belt in Judo. That's 'McDojo' brainwashing for you though." Alice shrugged nonchalantly before unlocking the apartment door. "The mother wasn't even phased by-"

The sentence died on her lips when Alice took those first steps into the apartment as she swung the door open and saw the state of the living room. Small groupings of folders and single sheets of papers were stacked haphazardly across all the seats surrounding the two individuals before her. This was something she had anticipated however after the late night talk she and Hatter had had with her father after dinner. Hatter had been reluctant to 'bring her father in the fold' about the hidden magical society on Earth, but at Alice's insistence that Robert would be fine, he'd eventually agreed. Even then it had been a reluctant acceptance and Alice wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Did Hatter not trust her father for some reason? She hadn't thought so, and when asked he denied that being the case and only insisted it was concern over too much information too soon. Alice could certainly sympathize with that, but he'd been living in a world of magic for years so she doubted it would jar him much, and she'd been right.

Although initially surprised about a magic society existing on Earth, he'd quickly started to launch into theories about universal truths and laws of balance and the conservations of energy and mass before Hatter had to cut him off and bring him back to the conversation at hand. It ended up being been close to midnight by the time they'd finished and Alice made to go back to her apartment. Ignoring Hatter's none too subtle hints that she should just stay there for the night. She wasn't quite comfortable enough around her father with any sort of outright admittance of sleeping with Hatter yet, and had just settled for a very, very, thorough, goodnight kiss by the door instead.

No the thing that disturbed Alice about the scene before her was that not only were both of the cousins hatless (something she very rarely saw outside of early morning visits) they were also completely motionless and engrossed in the documents before them. Not even noticing their arrival until Robert closed the door behind them, causing the cousins to jump slightly as the noise jarred them from their deep thoughts.

"I see you two have been rather productive today," Alice remarked as she set her keys down on the table near the door.

"Alice of Legend!" Harry exclaimed happily with a grin to match as he raised his arms towards her, "You've come to save me at last!"

She smirked down at him as she moved towards his seated position on the floor next to the coffee table, "Not if you keep up comments like that I'm not." A brief look over of the papers in front of the pre-teen revealed that he'd been charged with looking over the new account balances and Alice raised a speculative glance at Hatter seated in chair across the small table from her. "Not to sound insulting but...isn't this a little too advanced for Harry?"

"I close my eyes and all I see are numbers," Harry moaned dramatically as he pressed his palms against his eyes and leaned back against the seat behind him, "Math is the bane of my existence and will be the first thing I vanish when I learn how."

"Oh, quit your crowing," Hatter commented as he set his folder down on the table, "You wanted to volunteer to help out didn't ya? And Harry's good with numbers Alice, so don't let his act fool you. I've been teaching him how to manage the books for the shop for over a year now and if it was too much for him, he would've said somethin'."

She moved to sit on the armchair of Hatter's seat, but he had other plans as he changed her descent to land directly into his lap instead. Deciding to take pity on poor Harry, Alice smiled mischievously as she leaned in to properly greet Hatter. "Hi," she whispered on his lips and that was all the invitation he needed as he smiled back before quickly capturing her mouth with his own. Moving her left hand up to cup his face as a distraction, she then used her right, one placed above their heads, to signal Harry to take the chance and make a quick exit. To the kid's credit, he almost made it past the chair before stumbling on the rug for some reason, causing Hatter to pull away from the kiss at the sound to see what it was.

"Where do you think you're running off to then?"

Harry laughed victoriously, jumping out of Hatter's clumsy reach, as he made a dash for freedom in to the kitchen beyond, while Alice smirked in satisfaction as she watched.

"Well played you devious little minx you," Hatter slowly grinned as he faced Alice again, "Can't say that I object to your technique either."

"I'm a woman of many talents, remember?" she shot back playfully.

"So I've come to find," he whispered as he grinned a bit more seductively now. Much more invested in a proper kiss this time, Alice smiled as she lowered herself back down towards Hatter-

"Ahem," a voice cleared from behind them and Alice flushed in embarrassment. Oh god…she'd completely forgotten her father was still in the room.

"Have a nice lunch Robert?" Hatter asked nonchalantly and without a hint of embarrassment, as Alice buried her head in his shoulder while willing the blush to recede from her face.

"Oh definitely," he remarked with what she could tell was a hint of amusement, "Find out anything interesting in all of this?"

"Some," Hatter nodded slightly, "As far as Harry can tell, everything's right ways 'round with how the accounts have been handled since his parents passed on about ten years back. So that's a feather in our hats there. But I think another trip back to Mulberry will be in order. There are things missing from some of these legal documents that don't make any sense that I can see, and that's sayin' something."

The change in topic helped to rid most of her embarrassment by now, and Alice lifted her head off Hatter's shoulder to see her father flipping through the open folder on the table. He made some humming noises as he skimmed the top file, "Yes, I can see what you mean. You'll most likely want to look into hiring some type of legal representation in the magical society to look into this for you. It'll be easier than trying to learn it yourself I imagine."

"Can we get some books and things while we're there as well?" Harry piped up as he came back from the kitchen with a freshly acquired drink in hand, "We didn't have much time to give it a proper look around yeah?"

"Eager to try your hand at some of the magic here Little Potter?" Hatter quipped as he sent a smile at his younger cousin.

"'Course," Harry beamed with excitement, "I was hoping we might get a wand too. That beat up one we found back in the shop doesn't really do anything besides make sparks when I tried to copy what Abby did." He shrugged, "Probably busted best I can figure."

Alice shook her head with a chuckle, "I still can't believe they use honest to goodness magic wands." Her expression turned a bit more thoughtful before continuing, "I wonder how many of the old folk tales about magic are true though? Knowing the small amount that we do, it's easy to see they haven't been completely successful at hiding from the world at large over the centuries."

"Mind if I tag along with you three today?" Robert inquired as he set the folder back down, "The differences between magic here and in Wonderland are simply fascinating, and I'm interested in picking up a book or two about it myself. Possibly conduct some independent research on it for the King or whomever he appoints to meet the goblins I suppose."

"That's not a bad plan actually," Hatter lightly commented, "Give Harry and me a mo' to grab a bite and we can be on our way then."

* * *

Unlike yesterday, the magical shopping district was packed when they arrived about an hour later, and Alice made Harry promise to stick with either herself or Hatter so he didn't get swept away. After all the freedom Hatter had always allowed him, it grated on Harry's nervous a bit to be treated like a kid, but he supposed they had a point.

The goblins had informed them that while both American Dollars and Wizarding Gold were generally accepted as forms of payment on Mulberry Street, it was more of the exception rather than the rule for how magical shopping districts operated. The only other cities that instilled a similar policy were San Francisco, Tokyo, and Paris. Something that Hatter was pleased to discover as the Potter vaults were physically located in London, and Tackruk had only been too eager to inform them that while a withdrawal could be made from the account, there would be a hefty sum for the convenience charge to do so.

Figuring that buying a wand might be dull for those not involved, Hatter suggested they split up; with Alice and Robert scoping out the bookstore, while he would accompany Harry to find a wand before meeting up with them straight after. Not really sure which store would be best however, Alice led the group towards a flat white pillar that proclaimed it was a directory. Walking up to a free side, they found a basic outlining map displayed on in black with a pulsing red dot near the middle stating 'You are here' with the phrase 'Where do you need to go?' centered above it.

"I could tell you where I needed to go if I knew what anything here was called," Alice grumbled under her breath before releasing a gasp as brightly colored shop names began writing themselves in over their locations. Some store names were so tiny that the font became cramped as it adjusted and pushed other names out of the way.

"Fascinating," Robert mumbled as he moved to get a closer look.

Alice scowled as she tried to read some of the shop names, "That's still not very helpful," only to now have them erase on her now. "What the hell kind of directory is this?" Alice exclaimed in frustration.

"An equally bothered one apparently," Hatter quirked as her pointed to the area above the map which now read, 'Please STATE your inquiry then.'

"We're looking for a wand shop," Harry quickly jumped in with a smile and this time the map only provided the names of two shops with a place called Wands-R-Us in blue at the far upper end, and Ollivander Custom Wands in gold on the lower end, but much closer to the middle.

Alice looked much more impressed this time before she spoke up, "Alright, how about bookstores too?"

'New books or old books?' the directory displayed at the top.

"Umm, new I guess," she supplied and the map filled in the names of six stores up and down the street in blue, green, or purple.

Not really sure what any of the colors meant, Harry pointed to the shops nearest to them, "Lets go to Ollivander, and we'll meet you two in Nook and Crannies then yeah?"

"Wait a mo'," Hatter held up his hand as he addressed the directory, "Are there any law offices here as well?" Only three more names were added, this time in red, with Howle Consulting, Adams and Adams, and The Colonial Collective dispersed about evenly down the shopping district. Hatter nodded as he absorbed the information, "If we have time after the bookstore we should hit these up."

"You sure you don't want to visit them first?" Alice suggested as Robert moved in front of the directory to experiment with various commands since they no longer needed it's help. "I mean, I doubt they'll be open tomorrow since its Sunday."

Hatter shrugged, "Nothing that can't wait a day I'm sure."

With that settled, the two groups parted ways; much to Harry's delight and Robert's regret, as the scientist had only just begun to examine the magical map. Hatter and Harry easily weaved through the crowds and reached their destination a few short minutes later. The building design was a simpler one compared to some of the other shop fronts, and had a vaguely familiar feel to Harry, but the whole Street reminded him of walking around Tugley City so he didn't pay it much attention as he opened the door to enter.

The shop interior was paneled in a deep mahogany wood with thin boxes stacked up behind both of the smaller counters. A teenage girl was leaning on the counter to the left and appeared to be flirting with the young man behind it, so Harry walked over to the woman who was glaring at her shop assistant instead. She turned her head and smiled as she saw them approach her counter, "Hello."

"Good afternoon Miss," Hatter grinned charmingly and Harry watched as the lady's smile grew, "Could you assist us in selecting a wand by chance?"

"Moved over from England I suppose? Not surprising that you'd pick an Ollivander then," she inquired before glancing down at Harry, "Just a one for you I guess? Or will you both need new wands?" Harry hadn't really considered if Hatter might want one as well and looked inquiringly up at his cousin. He was never one to rely on magic for a quick fix, but Hatter had constantly stressed that it was always good to leave your options open.

Harry watched as Hatter weighed the decision mentally for a few seconds before nodding, "Sure, let's do one for each."

"Excellent," the saleswoman smiled back down at Harry, "You first then I take it?"

"Yes please," Harry grinned. The thought of an entirely new venue of magic open to him had him practically giddy with excitement, and he idly fiddled with his very well worn pack slung across his shoulder in anticipation.

She nodded knowingly and flicked her own wand at a tape measure on her desk which caused it to float towards him before zooming around him, taking various measurements. "Now are you left or right handed?"

"Right," he went cross eyed as the tape measure moved about in front of his face for a moment.

"And what day were you born?" she flipped open a book and had begun to scribble various notes in it.

"July thirty-first."

A flick from the woman's wand and the tape measure came sailing back to land on her counter as she finished writing her information down, before nodding once after looking it over. "Right, let me pull some pre-made ones and see if we can't find a match." The woman turned around to pull several boxes from the far left side that when set upon the counter all listed the wood as being Holly. After selecting about ten wands, she pulled one out and handed it to him. Grinning widely, he took it from her and then frowned as he barely felt a tingle of magic when he grasped it. Even with the broken one he'd at least felt a rush of magic upon contact. But before he could ask about it, the lady had snatched the wand back and passed him a different one. "Not unicorn then, let's try the Norwegian Ridgeback."

The boxes began to pile up as wand after wand continued to be unresponsive for Harry. A few started to recreate that rush of warmth he'd felt spread out from his chest and down his arm, but it quickly dissipated once it reached his hand and not a single one was able to recreate the sparks he could generate from the one he'd found in the Tea Shop in Wonderland. The sales woman appeared equally frustrated and excited as time wore on and a half an hour later they had completely exhausted her supply of Holly wands.

"Well," she exhaled as she pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "We haven't needed a custom sale for a kid in a long while and I'm baffled as to what type of core you might need."

"Can't we try a different wood type?" Harry questioned hopefully, but the woman shook her head.

"No, all your measurements show that Holly will work best as the conduit," she frowned at the pile of boxes before giving a wave of her wand and they all neatly few back over to their homes on the shelves. Harry's shoulders slumped at this news. So much for getting a wand today then. "Aww now," the woman attempted to comfort him, "Don't look so down! It just means we'll have to find a magical creature that suits your power needs is all. Do you have any pets, or animals you feel more comfortable around than others?"

He didn't have to look at Hatter to know that he shouldn't mention Bob, not after yesterday's revelation anyway, so he scrunched up his face in thought. What animals had he met besides Bob anyway? Well there was the Jabberwock of course, the Jub-Jub birds, Snap Dragons, Cheshire- Harry's face cleared suddenly in realization. He opened up his pack and smiled as he found what he was looking for inside. Harry really shouldn't be a surprised that the crafty thing had known all along.

Harry smiled as he pulled the sought after bundle from his pack and set it on the counter, "Could you use these?"

The woman frowned thoughtfully as she examined the obviously foreign hair. Taking a piece and holding it close to her face before tapping it thrice with her wand, causing it to glow brightly for a second. "Very unusual," she muttered, "I'm not familiar with this type of hair…but I can certainly work with it." She had him hold a handful of it while swishing her wand in a complicated pattern before nodding happily, "And you're compatible with it too so this just might work."

"Where did you get this fur from Harry?" Hatter cautiously inquired as he examined a strand of hair himself.

Harry raised an eyebrow and smirked, "From Cheshire, the morning Alice left." He could see the flicker of confusement and surprise briefly in Hatter's eyes before his cousin warily moved to place the hair back down. The woman stopped him however so she could test Hatter's compatibility with the fur first; nodding to herself once more as it yielded positive results.

"Yes I thought that might be the case," she stated, "These things do tend to run in the family after all."

They then spent the next ten minutes or so testing Hatter for a matching wood type once he admitted to not knowing his real birthday, but eventually found it to be Hawthorn easy enough based off the more in depth measurement the sales lady ended up taking. After a deposit of forty dollars for each wand, the sales woman informed them to come back on Tuesday for a test run, and that if it went well (as it should) they could expect both wands to be finished by Thursday at the latest.

While not exactly what he had hoped for, Harry still left the wand shop that afternoon with a smile on his face and a spring in his step as they made their way to the bookstore. The magical world was looking much better than it had yesterday.

* * *

Author's Comments: Sorry this chapter ended up being severely delayed. If you've checked my updates on my profile you may know that while not suffering from a lack of interest in the story, or writer's block, I haven't had much of a drive to actually type this past week. I can only hope some of the points of interest I've brought up here made the wait worth it. There was going to be one more scene at the end here where we get to see an old friend from Wonderland, but it has been moved to the start of chapter 4 since I liked this ending point better. If anyone is wondering what wand I keep referring to, I shall have to point you towards chapter 7 of Moments of Lucidity; chapter 3 as well if you want more history on it.

I've finally established my main summer month arc points with this chapter. Feel free to guess what they are. ^_~ Next chapter we'll get to meet Abby's Dad, who has some interesting information for our heros where Wonderland is concerned. It's something I've been looking forward to sharing so hopefully after a day or two break from my laptop/writing, I can start on chapter 4. :D

Thanks as always to the wonderful people who have, and continue to review! They always brighten my day when I see I have a new one. ^_^ Not to mention those who have added this to their favs or alerts. Also on that note, Tk, I'm not sure what I did to require so many thank yous, but you are quite welcome. *nods*

Posted 7/24/2010


	4. Go not to Surrealist for council

Chapter 4: _Go not to Surrealist for council, for they will say both blue and hippopotamus_

Walking into Nook and Crannies felt much like walking into a Borders bookstore to Alice, but with a few subtle changes. The bookcases here were a deep mahogany and ran from floor to ceiling except for the few shorter display stacks at the front, and not a single promotion sale or ad could be seen. There was also a distinct lack of electronic devices from what Alice could gather at first glace, but she didn't have much time to think about why before her father began directing her towards a section clearly labeled 'Arithmancy and Magical Theory'.

This place felt so much like any other bookstore she may have been in, that when Alice glanced absently at book covers out of habit while she followed her father, the smiling blonde face actually waving at her from an end cap display easily caught her off guard, and she had to do a double take. Taking in the display banner at the top proclaiming it to be the latest from someone named Gilderoy Lockhart, whom Alice could only assume was the nauseatingly grinning man on the cover that all alternated between trying to get attention to posing dramatically, she had to remind herself that pictures could move in the magical world. Reading some of the acclaim written there as well, she couldn't help but raise a speculative eyebrow at the sticker that proclaimed he'd won some award for the most charming smile before moving to catch up with her father, and smirking in satisfaction. The man had nothing on Hatter's grin if you asked her.

Robert had already begun pulling books off the shelves by the time Alice rounded the last bookcase, and she had only a moment to take the small pile of books from him before he pulled her off towards another aisle; all the while excitingly rambling on about experiments or something with each new acquisition. After three more aisles and almost a dozen books, she couldn't keep quiet any longer.

"Okay Dad," Alice grunted as she set the pile down on the chair next to their current aisle and placed her hands on her hips, "I know you're excited about all of this, I am too, but we can't possibly need this many books right away."

"Oh but Alice," Robert retaliated as turned back to face her with a smile, "The possibilities, the research. There are fields mentioned here that I could only speculate on back under the Queen's rule. You may have been able to guess but, education was her primary concern. This place is like a cool glass of water after a drought for me and not only have I found books out for this whole goblin issue, but maybe something in these books can help Jack with the other consequences I'm sure he's still trying to fix."

His posture had a defeated and regretful quality to it when he finished speaking and he caressed the top book of the stack. Alice was confused as to why he seemed so upset before the reason quiet suddenly came to her. This wasn't just the typical academic curiosity that was calling to him with this new magical world like she thought. It was also the hope that he might be able to find something to help all those Emotion Tea addicts back in Wonderland; addicts that her father most likely felt responsible for creating. She'd been so focused on rebuilding her relationship with her father and helping to reunite him with her mother as well, that she hadn't really given a thought as to how he might be feeling about what he'd done in Wonderland; and what he'd done to those kidnapped from Earth as well. Alice suddenly felt very small as she recalled the hurtful words she'd spouted at him in the Happy Hearts Casino over a month ago. Even she had partly blamed him for that mess.

Deciding on a course of action, Alice let out a deep breath, "Possibly, but the store isn't going anywhere Dad. We can come back for more books without trying to cut off circulation to my hands all in one go alright?" She smiled reassuringly at her father and he plastered on a half smile of his own.

"Yes…yes I suppose you have a point there," he stated and began pulling a few titles from the pile, but Alice just as quickly set them back on top.

"I think I saw some hand baskets by the door so why don't you keep this pile you've got going company, and I'll be right back with one," she suggested and her father looked at her curiously before giving her another small smile.

"Sure thing Jellybean," he replied softly, "and thanks."

She smiled supportively at him before making note of his current location and attempting to find her way back to the front of the store. The place was like a huge maze since she couldn't just look over the stacks to find the front until she noticed the helpful arrows pointing her back the right direction. Clearly she hadn't been the first person to get disoriented here. Picking up a large tote bag that proclaimed to both feather-light and bottomless for her 'shopping convenience', Alice was caught off guard when a familiar voice spoke up from right behind her.

"Oh good, you've not rung up yet then yeah?"

Alice spun around and smacked Hatter on the arm. "Don't scare me like that," she hissed, causing Harry to laugh.

"Such violence!" Hatter bemoaned as he rubbed his arm, "You sure that sport of yours is supposed to make you more peaceful like? Cause you may want to look into a refund if this pattern keeps up."

She rolled her eyes at his little quip and smiled, "I'll be sure to do that." Noticing that Harry wasn't fawning over a new wand, Alice continued, "No luck at the shop then?"

"Sorta," Harry shrugged indifferently, "We're having some custom made since none of the pre-made ones connected with my magic. Have to go back on Tuesday to test them and then Thursday to pick up."

Alice nodded before part of his response fully processed and she tilted her head before looking at them both curiously. "Some? As then more than one?" she inquired.

"Yup," Harry grinned, "Hatter's getting one too. He'll finally have something more useful than that right arm of his to boast about."

Hatter rolled his eyes good naturedly at Harry's remark before shooting a glance at Alice to see her reaction. She was sure the surprise was easy to read on her face for a moment before she became thoughtful. Not that she'd really had time to talk to her boyfriend about his overpowered right hook, Alice had just assumed that it was magic but had never really connected it to magic like the type she'd seen Harry perform for some reason. Of course thinking about an imbued magical talent reminded her of her own concerns and she quickly shoved that thought away; telling herself that this wasn't exactly the place to talk about something like that.

Realizing that Hatter was still waiting for a response, she shook herself out of her mental stupor. "Should I be worried about the future state of your apartment with two of you practicing magic there soon?"

"I'm sure it'll be safe enough," Hatter smirked before looking about curiously, "where's your Da' then by the way?"

"Back in that labyrinth," Alice waved towards the section she'd come from a few minutes ago, "He's already started on quite a pile so I came to grab one of these." She held up the tote for him to see, "You'll probably want to invest in your own if only to keep your stuff separate." The gleam in Harry's eye after her comment assured her that she'd made the right decision as he grabbed his own tote bag that he then proceeded to play with and test it as she led the playful duo back towards her father.

* * *

It surprisingly took less than an hour for their small group to make all of their selections at Nook and Crannies. After Alice had brought the hand basket back to her father, he'd insisted on only grabbing another one or two books before claiming he was done and while Harry was clearly excited about learning some new magic, he had absolutely no idea where to start. A store clerk came to their aide though at Alice's suggestion and the young man had promptly selected the recommended course books for grade one entrants to Salem, as well as a set of books designed to explain the basics of magical society in America. Something that all four members of their group expressed interest in looking over in the near future.

Alice was happily surprised at how inexpensive both purchases ended up being compared to what she expected, and the sales associate at the register cheerfully supplied that unlike the muggle society, which required massive printing machines to turn out its products, books published in the magical world were easily assembled with the aide of spell work and enchantments. Practically eliminating the need to factor in the cost for production as any one determined wizard could easily create several hundred books in one day if they so wished and had the materials. Hatter was properly impressed by this fact, though Robert appeared easily more so, no doubt having experienced first hand what it was like to be required to produce monumental results in a short amount of time.

With their purchases easily stowed away in an expanded bag similar to the shopping baskets provided by the store, Hatter began leading their small group back up Mulberry Street towards the closest Law Office, Adams and Adams. Harry and Robert waited outside the dark building while Alice followed him in, stating that she was the only person there with any working legal knowledge for Earth, and Hatter was grateful for the company really after taking a step inside. The dark almost monotone coloring of the office grated on his senses with its lack of colors, but stood in sharp relief to the personality of the woman seated behind the only desk. She had dark brown hair streaked with gray fashioned into a bob cut that curled back in towards her head, and wore a suit of pale blue.

No doubt having heard them enter into the dead quite of the office, the woman smiled brightly up at them, "Hello, how may I help you?"

"Hi," Alice replied, "We've recently become aware of a situation that may require legal counsel and were wondering if we could setup a meeting with someone from your practice here to see if they could help."

"Oh certainly!" the woman practically cooed as she pulled a scheduler out of her top desk drawer, "Now, Ms. Adams is booked full for the next month but her father, Mr. Adams, has an opening…this coming Tuesday morning if you'd like me to pencil you in?"

"I'll be back here anyway so that's easy enough to manage," Hatter nodded agreeably and the woman continued to smile as she took down his name and passed him back a business card with the date and time marked on the back. The design on it matched the depressive theme of the office but one little detail caught his eye as he gave it a look over, "So that's Addams with two Ds then?"

"Oh yes," the secretary nodded seriously now, "Mr. Addams was most displeased when they got the spelling wrong on the sign, but I assured him it's a common mistake and we're working on getting a new one in place soon."

With that odd but interesting tidbit under their belt, the couple bid the lady good day and walked back out to join their party, with Hatter tucking the business card into his jacket pocket as they stepped outside. He frowned while doing so as he encountered a bit of resistance and pulled out the other item in his front pocket. Hatter's eyebrow raised slightly in surprise when he realized it was the tiny business card he'd forgotten about from a few days ago. It also clicked into place that that was why he'd thought the one shop name was familiar the other day, he'd seen the name already.

"You alright?" Harry asked and Hatter suddenly realized he'd been ignoring the others since he'd walked out of the office.

"Sorry, yeah. Just found this in my front pocket and realized I'd completely forgotten about another place we should hit up," he stated and passed the card over for Alice's inspection.

She frowned slightly as she read name on the card, "Carpenter's Custom Cabinetry? When did you get this?"

Out of the corner of Hatter's eye he could see that Robert's attention had suddenly zeroed in on the tiny card when she spoke. Shite, he'd have'ta watch him carefully. "Two days passed, from that Abby girl. Said that was the family shop and we should pop in to chat with her Da' yeah?" Hatter smiled casually.

Alice was checking her watch and seemed to be considering it while Harry just shrugged, unconcerned either way as he had a bag full of magical goodies to dig into, but it was Robert who spoke up first. "I think we should, even if just for a short time," he stated almost immediately and gently took the card form Alice, "You did say he was from Wonderland after all correct?"

Hatter inclined his head, "That was the implication we got from Abby at least."

"And she wasn't really informative about all of this," Alice gestured to the general magical shopping area, "Not to mention it could save us from fighting over some of those books to play catch up as well."

"Right, let's off then," Harry decided as he started leading the way back to the center entrance and the shop, "Maybe he'll have some suggestions on making this magic here work with out a wand as well yeah?" Hatter smirked at Harry's one track mind about all of this and shared an amused glance with Alice as they followed behind the preteen.

It only took a few minutes to walk the remaining distance to Carpenter's and Harry held the door open of Alice to go in first, which gained him two smiles and a raised eyebrow. The shop had a very open interior with lots of space between display items that certainly gave it a welcoming feeling. The positioning of the plants in noteworthy areas certainly helped in that regard as well. All types of constructs were on show that could be made out of wood. Cabinets, hutches, armoires, trunks, tables, chairs and even a few hand carved figures in a lit display case.

Just as the door shut behind their little group, a middle aged man of average height with dirty blonde hair that was brushed forward in an attempt to hide a prominent forehead walked out of a back room behind the sales counter. "Good afternoon," he greeted the group with a smile and a hint of an old accent in his voice, "What can I help you lot with today?"

At first glance Hatter could hazard a guess that this could very well be who they were seeking, but he knew it would be best to check anyway and took a step forward casually. "What would you say if I were to tell you, that I have often seen the cat wearing a grin?"

The man's face instantly became more speculative and he gave their group a hard look over before looking back at Hatter with a small smile, "I'd say that I have often seen the grin, without the cat." He put his hand forward and Hatter met it in a quick shake, "It's a pleasure to meet you all finally. Abby spoke highly of your meeting the other day, but I had so hoped you might stop 'round. They don't tell me much these days about the goings on there, but I did hear the good news."

"Brilliant," Hatter smiled now as well, "We could all have a chat then yeah? Maybe over a pot or two?"

The man then turned contemplative for a moment as he glanced behind them at the door and then about the empty shop before nodding, "Yes, I think we can manage that. Abby! Could you come out front please?"

There was some shuffling heard from the back room, and Abby's familiar white blonde head appeared popped out of the door with a smile, "Yeah Da'? Whatcha need?" She looked past him to see Hatter's little group and her eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Well you certainly don't waste time then do ya?"

"Abby," her father spoke with authority, "I'm going to need you to watch the shop for a bit so I can chat with them alright?"

"But Da," she objected as she took a few steps into the room now, "I've got a date with Conn at seven! What if you start rambling on like always you do?"

"Connor's a good kid, and I know he won't mind waiting. Not to mention we close at six, so I'm sure you'll survive," he commented wryly before looking back at his visitors with a smile, "Please, follow me."

As they passed an irate Abby sitting at the stool behind the sales counter, Hatter could hear her grumbling about the unfairness of life under her breath. A quick look back showed that Harry and Alice found it equally amusing, but that Robert seemed impassive to it all. Hatter's look became contemplative at that, and when their host gestured for them to make themselves comfortable on one of the many seats around the workshop, he made sure Robert was in his field of vision as he sat on the armrest of the couch Alice and Harry chose to occupy.

"Sorry about Abby," the still unnamed man commented as he cleared a few things off the table before them and set up a strange looking tea contraption, "She's got her mother's fire I'm afraid."

Alice waved him off with a smile, "Don't worry about it. Pretty sure it's written in every teenager's genetic code to give their parents attitude. I know I did."

Hatter winced slightly and noticed the cloudy look on Robert's face that passed by with that comment. Probably not the best time for a reminder like that. Harry caught his eye and Hatter could tell his cousin had finally noticed the situation they might be in and nodded once to the lad.

Now on page with his cousin, Harry quickly ran interference, "So Abby said you're from Wonderland then? But she was born here yeah?"

The pot seemed to be underway now, making muted hissing and crackling noises, and the man left it alone. "Yes, my wife and I escaped almost nineteen years ago and Abby was the result of our celebration once we got settled in," he smiled with a touch of embarrassment before gasping, "Oh! Where has my mind gone? I just realized I've yet to introduce myself. My name in Wonderland was merely Carpenter, but we moved it to my last name as it's so common in this world, so please, call me John."

The shock around the table was easy to read on everyone at this revelation, though Alice looked confused immediately afterward as she glanced at her father and John sighed, "Yes, I had thought you might have heard of me. They'd said the Emotion Teas were still being produced after I fled; though I've heard the Queen has finally been taken down now yes?"

Before Hatter could try and change the subject, Alice spoke up first, "Yes she has, but you're saying that you were that Carpenter; the one who created those Teas for the Queen?"

John sighed and looked down, "I'm sorry to say I was. I wasn't the first to develop the technique of course, but I certainly upgraded the process; developing the technique along with my partner that merged science and magic to drain emotions as they ran just under the surface upon first experiencing them. Even enjoyed my work in the beginning until I found out what they did to the people they drained of every last drop."

His face had become grim towards the end and he looked back up at them, "I ran to the Resistance at my first chance and they smuggled my wife and I here in hopes that without me, my theories would never be completed and they could sabotage the process, but as you all know, that was not the case. I've no idea where they found someone who could continue my work as anyone found with posses superior reasoning or education was quickly liberated from their head just after I started working for the Queen. One of her many plans to rid Wonderland of the Resistance I'm sure."

Hatter was watching Robert intently through the entire revelation, worried how the man might be reacting to the news of why he'd been captured in the first place. Not that this wasn't news to himself as well, as it certainly was, but it only made his concern for Alice's father increase. He'd of course been worried just with talking to a man who ran a place named after Robert's identity in Wonderland for over a decade, but the truth, as it tended to be, was much worse.

Thankfully, he just seemed to be content with quiet contemplation at this so Hatter attempted to change the subject, "So what've they told you about what's happened then? With the Queen and all?"

The tea contraption dinged once sharply and John quickly passed around cups for everyone. Hatter made sure to take his cup first and was pleased when his ring declared it safe to drink. John shrugged, "As I said, not much. I know that she was finally overthrown and that some operatives can finally go home." He chuckled briefly, "Some people were even saying that the, 'Alice of Legend' was involved once more, but I don't hold much stock in gossip like that."

Harry snorted into his tea which he quickly attempted to pass off as a cough, and Alice shot him a glare as she clearly wasn't fooled.

Unable to help himself, and seeing the perfect opportunity, Hatter spoke up again, "Oh there was an Alice involved alright. And she brought down the whole house of cards she did," he quirked a smile at the glare that was now directed at him, "Made quite an impression on us all."

"Really?" John questioned with a jubilant smile, "Well how do you like that, a new Legend then? Those who don't learn from history are doomed after all. I'd love to meet her one day though."

"Yeah, wouldn't that be a treat," Harry smiled mischievously.

He chuckled again, "She's to become Wonderland's Boy-Who-Lived I'm sure."

Alice had clearly had enough of their teasing as she almost slammed down her tea cup, "So how does someone who used to steal emotions get into the furniture business?" she queried with a touch of spite, and clearly saw her father flinch from her remark as her demeanor softened immediately; placing an apologetic hand on Robert's arm, causing him to send her an appreciative smile.

John seemed to miss the exchange as he refilled his own cup, "It was my family's trade and my only real option as I came here practically penniless. We sold normal items until the government approached us when Abby was three and we found out about all of this." He gestured to the world at large, "Once we knew magic existed here and I could take full use of my own magic, we moved shop and I've been using my unique skills to carve a nice little niche market for things like Mushroom Trunks and hide away spaces. Science will always be my first mistress though so I develop my theories in my spare time as well."

"You're seriously still working on methods to harvest emotions?" Alice demanded, "Even after you claimed to have seen the error of your ways?"

"No! No! Goddesses no!" John declared as he held his hands out passively and scooted his chair back slightly out of Alice's reach. "Just theories on magic in general, I assure you!"

"Like what?" Harry chimed in with a look of interest on his face. Something Hatter was thankful to see mirrored on Robert as well and he mentally thanked his cousin's passion for all things magic.

John cleared his throat and sent a nervous glance at Alice, who'd thankfully reigned in her ire from a moment ago, "Well, for instance, why magic exists only partially in this world and not fully as it does in Wonderland."

"What'd you find then?" Hatter asked with genuine curiosity as it was something that had been on his mind for a few days now as well.

"Seeing as how I've been unable to return to Wonderland, this is all just speculation you understand," John began as he drained the last of his tea, "But I believe, that the reason it has magic is because of Wonderland."

"What do you mean?" Alice frowned in confusion, "That Wonderlanders brought magic over with them or something?"

"No, something much more simple, and yet marvelously complex," the scientists continued as he leaned forward on the table with barely contained excitement, "You see, I believe that the two worlds are connected through the Rabbit Holes; with Wonderland acting as the source and Earth, the river with which to channel it. Possibly even causing the development of life on this planet when they first connected, though obviously I could never prove such a thing, it would certainly be in the realm of possibility."

"Which would explain why not everyone here can use magic, as the planet it's self does not generate it," Robert added thoughtfully as he spoke up for the first time.

John turned to face the man with a grin, "Yes, precisely! Though I believe it will one day in the distant future if the growth rate of new magical families continues to increase at a cubic factor of ten per month when compared to a year. It already houses unique magical creatures not seen in Wonderland so it is well on its way already."

"Hold on," Alice interjected and held up her hand, "How did they become connected in the first place, and what are Rabbit Holes anyway?"

"Well, no one really knows now do they?" John replied casually, "They don't stay in any one place long enough to study, allowing the growth of magic to the spread about the planet as a result, but as for how they became connected in the first place." He paused before going on, "My recent theory suggests that they were never disconnected from the start; with Wonderland just resting on a higher dimension than Earth."

Alice quickly became skeptical, "You mean like alternate universes?"

A look of distaste crossed John's face with that comment, "No, nothing like that science fiction crap the media likes to peddle around. No, what I mean is alternate dimensional planes."

Quick glances at everyone else reassured Hatter that he was not the only person lost here as both Harry and Alice seemed equally perplexed, and Robert was rubbing his short beard in thought.

The former Wonderland scientist must have noticed this as well as he sighed and rubbed a hand down his face and pulled a scrap of paper and pencil from the work bench behind him, "I'll try and explain this simply. Let's say we have a line." He illustrated this on the paper and held it up, "This line exists in a two dimensional plane. All it will ever have is length and width, but it is incapable of having depth, agreed?"

He looked about to see them all nod before continuing, "Now, when you do add depth, even a small amount like that of this paper, you move into the third dimension; the one that we all currently inhabit. As beings of the third dimension, we can manipulate not just our own, but the dimensions below us as well, such as I did by making this line, but also like this line cannot see the dimensions above it, so can we not see the ones above us."

"So you're saying Wonderland is above us then in the fourth dimension," Robert declared and the man nodded, "We can exist there, as it must be in the other dimensions as well, but we can't see it typically as we're only a three dimensional being, and Rabbit Holes are a manifestation of connections between the fourth and third dimensions." His eyes were alight with discovery, "That's absolutely fascinating."

"What is this fourth dimension then?" Alice pressed.

"Time of course," John smiled as he set down the paper, "Surely you've noticed how it differs there and yet remains constant here? Of course, being third dimension beings in a fourth dimensional world causes adverse affects on some, which is why those who cannot adapt go mad. Perhaps only slightly so depending on ones' starting mental and magical states but, there you have it."

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes as they absorbed this information. To be honest, it made quite a bit of sense to Hatter when he thought upon it. Time had never felt as confined in Wonderland as it did here on Earth. It was one of the reasons why conventional watches didn't work there, and the position of the sun was the best indicator for that sort of reference. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure Alice had ever looked at his pocket watch to see that it kept track of the sun and moon positions and not arbitrary numbers. Harry was quick to accept this theory as well it seemed, though he did offer up his own inquiry about it.

"So does that mean Oysters- err people- that stay in Wonderland for long periods of time develop magic as well?" Harry questioned, "I mean, you said it happened here as a sort of run off of magic coming from Wonderland and flowing into Earth, so wouldn't it work if they went there as well?"

"Ah, now that I have seen a bit more proof on," John remarked as he leaned forward on the table once more, "As you may already know with your own magic, magical abilities in Wonderland are specialized. Sometimes it follows a family line, such as the house of Diamonds excelling with constructs like myself, and sometimes it develops in reaction as the best response to fill ones' primary need, like survival. However, since it's such a transition from one dimension to the other, magic gets corrupted when it enters the core of this planet. And while some people may experience a similar affinity, on a whole they can use a broad range of abilities instead of being limited to one type.

"Now, as I've mentioned before, those who can't adapt to living in a fourth dimension world can go mad. So while some develop a magical affinity faster by living in Wonderland, they lack any sort of interaction to allow the magic to manifest it's self as an ability set. The most I'd ever seen occur was developing a natural resistant to the sedatives that kept them docile," he shrugged enigmatically, "It's essentially a yes and no answer, but the slower evolution here is the safer of the two if you ask me."

Harry nodded understandingly and Hatter could see Alice was holding her right arm with her left, but her head was bent forward and her curtain of hair kept him from reading her facial expression. "What about the people that have been returned recently?" she spoke up, "Will they experience any…magical developments?"

John tapped his chin thoughtfully as he leaned back in his chair, "Most possibly, though as I said, it all depends on length of exposure and interaction. More likely we'll see a statistic jump and a boom of magical children in the coming years. The human mind has the uncanny ability to ignore the simple truth with an easier lie more often than not."

* * *

Dinner was a tense affair that night back at Hatter's flat once more.

Robert was pouring over some of the theoretical books he'd purchased earlier that day, and refused to talk to Alice when she tried to broach him about the events surrounding his kidnapping that they'd inadvertently uncovered today. Going so far as to excuse himself to his room early when she wouldn't let it drop, which gave Alice a mini-break down seeing him shut her out like that. Hatter hadn't thought it would affect her so but she'd been acting strangely since they left Carpenter's shop and hadn't responded to his gentle prodding to find out what was upsetting her so.

Thank the Goddesses Harry was acting perfectly normal as he wasn't sure he could keep up with being the only stable one there.

Hatter even went so far as to discretely pass off the keys to Alice's place for his cousin to hide as he refused to let her go home tonight. His gut was telling him that being alone wasn't what she needed right now and he silently signaled his intentions to confront her about whatever her problem was when he passed the keys. Harry's raised eyebrow in return wished him luck before turning back to read his selected spell book.

In her distressed state, it was easy to lead Alice off to his bedroom as she didn't even suspect anything until he clicked the lock in place behind him.

"What're you doing," she frowned as she turned to face him.

"Locking you in, until you confess whatever it is that's got your derby in a bind," Hatter stated as he crossed his arms in front of him.

Alice narrowed her eyes, "What makes you think I can't fight my way past you?"

Brilliant, she was looking for fuel for her fire. "As you may recall, I have a mean right hook, and you may not believe it but I'm a fair hand in a fight as well. So I'm willing to wager on beating you out just this once."

Her body language shifted through anger and frustration before he caught a glimpse of sadness as she turned away from him. "I wouldn't be so sure of that any more," she mumbled just loudly enough for him to hear.

"See, that. That right there is what we're gonna talk about," Hatter stated as he uncrossed his arms and gestured at her, "You were fine until we found out about your Da, are you just upset about all of that then?"

"No," she sighed.

"No you're not upset about your Da?"

She ran her hands through across her face and then through her hair and grumbled, "No, I mean, yes of course I'm upset about that and I'm worried about him but, no that's not what's really bothering me."

"Then what Alice, what's the matter?" Hatter pleaded and he tried to reach out a hand to her but she jerked away from his touch. The sting of that rejection hurt more than he could say but, he kept his face schooled so she wouldn't get distracted.

"It's me," she proclaimed and voice gained in volume as she spoke, "It's me being an Oyster, and it's Wonderland and this whole…messed up world! And it's magic and I." She finally turned around to face him fully again and he could see the slight hysteria on her face as she gestured to her chest, "I'm scared about what's happening to me Hatter. I think…I think I'm changing and I've changed so many times recently that I'm not quite sure who I am any more!"

Hatter felt his heart ache to see her like this as his mind tried to process just what she was saying, without outright telling him. It only took but a few seconds to do so, and it almost shocked him when he made the connection. Her actions back at the shop were suddenly clear as day to him. "Oh Alice love," he murmured and slowly approached her before reaching out a steady hand to caress her cheek, his heart swelling when she didn't pull away this time, "You are the bravest, sweetest, and most stubbornly loyal person I have ever met."

He grinned and she gave a weak smile as he used both hands cupping her face now to wipe the stray tear or two that rolled down it, "A bit of faerie dust and magic isn't gonna change that, and you can trust me on this for I am a man who knows after all yeah?" Alice gave a weak laugh and a stronger smile before taking him in her arms and burying her head into his neck and he wrapped his arms around her, both sighing contently as they did so.

"What if it's more than just what I think it is though," Alice whispered with her lips ghosting against his neck, causing a shiver to run down his spine. Oh this would not due to get aroused while he was trying to comfort her.

Hatter quickly attempted to shut down that thought process by pulling her back some so he could look at her properly again. "Then we'll deal with that gap if we have to jump it, and you heard the man. You weren't there but a week, tops, so it'll just be little bits then yeah?"

"Yeah," she smiled sadly but he could see she wasn't convinced and Hatter felt his own desire for confession spring up in him then which caused a moment of panic. He hadn't wanted to tell her that in a moment like this, but it was his only trump card. His mind didn't want to let it go, but his heart was pulling him by the ear like a naughty child and demanding that he tell her now dammit!

"And besides," he took a steadying breath, "Even if you sprouted great big Jabberwock wings, it wouldn't change the fact that I…" He swallowed nervously and licked his lips as she looked at him with a mixture of confusion and pain and what he could only pray was hope as well, "That I…I love you Alice."

The world stopped in that second as he gauged her reaction on baited breath, and worry flooded his system as she just stared at him in surprise for what seemed like a lifetime before a huge grin grew on her face. She hugged him tightly more a brief moment and laughed before pulling back to search his face and blink away a set of tears, "Oh Hatter, David, I love you too."

He immediately bridged the short distance and captured her mouth with his own as he became overcome with so many emotions. Joy, Elation, Wonder, Happiness, Love. Hatter felt as though he may burst they were pouring out of him so fast and he couldn't relay them to this wonderful woman before him fast enough. And to think that she felt the same as he! Determined to show her just how much he cherished what she'd just given him, Hatter moved them over to his bed and resolved to do his best to put her fears to rest as well. Even if it took him all night.

* * *

Author's Comments: Mea Culpa, mea culpa a thousand times for the long time between updates. I have barely been at home the last week and a half and my writing time suffered immensely for it. Even more so as I wanted to be able to write the connection scene all in one go, and I knew that would take at minimum three hours. I started with 4 pages today at 6pm, and not at 1:30 I'm ending with almost 14. Woof.

Back to the story though, I hope my dimension explanation was easy enough for everyone to understand! It's a theory I developed back when I was working on Tumbling and I'm quite pleased with the originality of it as far as fanfics go. It was inspired in large part by a video I watched about the ten dimensions a while back (you can find it on youtube) and a recent viewing on Inception. I've been dropping hints about this in Checkmate, the last three chapters, and a very tiny bit near the end of Tumbling. If you need a further explanation, just ask as many of you know I am more than happy to respond to my reviewers. Yes, we also see what's been going on with Alice this story and lay down some implications for others as well. Fairly sure this unplanned declaration between Hatter and Alice at the end is in direct opposition to my sad piece 'For a Legend' but when I proof read I thought it felt good. I'm really hoping to hear back on what you, my wonderful readers, thought of this. ^_^

We should see a pick up in action in a chapter or two as things start moving along now that I have my base laid. Here's hoping I get lots of time to write chapter 5 yeah?

Posted 8/12/2010


	5. Many of the truths we cling to

_Chapter 5: Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view_

Something very strange was going on.

Having lived in Wonderland for almost three years, the very idea that he could find things to be strange spoke volumes about the situation Harry currently found himself in, and that strangeness mainly revolved around his cousin, Hatter.

In direct relation, Alice was also acting particularly weird from how he knew she acted, but it seemed to mainly be occurring whenever she was in Hatter's presence. Something she'd not really left since sometime Saturday night when his cousin went to talk with her. It was now Tuesday morning and Harry was no closer to solving this puzzle.

They both seemed so…happy. Deliriously happy. Stupid happy even. Like they'd been downing whole cups of pure Happiness, and only the fleeting glimpses of some other emotions between them assured the eleven year old that they hadn't done so. Not having access to said Emotion Tea of course was beside the point.

Harry had seen his cousin around many women before, too many to keep track of really, but never had Hatter acted like this around any of them. Normally it was lots of little kisses and flirting with women, but little beyond that when Harry was in listening or viewing distance. Both stipulations that Hatter had to train himself to adhere to as the first few months of living with his cousin had taught Harry more about physical intimacy between two adults than living in Surrey ever had. Especially that one time he'd walked into the kitchen to find his cousin sitting some new girl on the counter while it looked like he was trying to eat her face.

Another such incident had earned him the nickname 'little big ears' for awhile when he asked if the woman in his cousin's room had been hurt that morning as she sounded like she might be in pain.

Both examples of memories he found himself thinking about a lot recently to find some frame of reference for how Hatter and Alice were acting, and none of them were helping. Instead of the calculated distance Hatter had kept women at when not 'involved' with them, he seemed to not be able to stop touching Alice now. The pair had acted like that on occasion before, but they were at it all the time now! Sitting flush up against each other, touching hands, sneaking kisses when Harry wasn't looking as often as when he was, and Alice was just as bad as Hatter! Harry was fairly sure he'd seen her grab his cousin's butt the other morning before walking off to Hatter's bedroom, with his cousin hot on her heels. Harry even still had her keys hidden as she'd not expressed any interest in finding them yet.

This behavior was confusing on so many levels to the pre-teen. Certainly he understood that they liked each other, a lot, but something must have happened to catapult their relationship to the next level just as Harry was getting used to the idea of what dating was supposed to be like. Hatter having been quick to establish a long time ago that his many girlfriends over the last few years were not real ones as they'd not been courting or dating even, just having a bit of fun. His cousin was admittedly dating Alice before Sunday, so did that mean they were courting now? The whole process seemed strange…and at the same time extremely interesting.

Harry had begun to notice that girls were interesting in an attractive sort of way as well over the last few months and while he really, really, didn't want to watch his cousin try and suffocate Alice with their kissing (seriously, how did one breathe when they did that?) he kept finding himself sneaking inquisitive glances at them when they did recently; though the past two days had certainly tested his curiosity on that front as well…

Watching his cousin give Alice a series of goodbye kisses before she giggled and finally closed the door to leave and teach her early morning class, Harry prepared to pepper the man with questions as soon as he walked back over to the kitchen. Sod being subtle, he was going to get some answers out of Hatter before they left on their own appointments for the day. Sporting the permanent grin that he'd been wearing the past few days, Hatter strode over to the kitchen island and plopped down in front of the remainder of his breakfast toast and morning cuppa.

"Okay," Harry demanded, "What the hell is going on?"

Hatter quirked an eyebrow as he set his cup back down after taking a sip, "Well, after I have a bite we're to go off and meet that lawyer before seeing about those wands. Wouldn't have pegged you to forget about something like that yeah?"

"Of course not," Harry frowned, "But what's this business between you and Alice? I mean, Saturday night she's all moody and upset so you go bother her about it and then the next day, you're both acting like you've drowned in Tea! It's a good thing I can handle a stove or surely we'd have all starved seeing as how you barely broke off each other to use the loo, much less have a bite to eat."

"You're just exaggerating things," Hatter scoffed as he finished his toast, "I know I normally keep any bird I'm seeing out of your way, but I already told you before that things are different with Alice. She's not like all those other girls." A grin slowly grew on his cousin's face then, "Sure you're not just jealous that Alice might be stealing all my time?"

Harry felt his face flush in combined anger and embarrassment. "I'm not jealous of Alice!" he firmly denied, mentally adding a 'not really' to himself. Sure he was worried his cousin would just forget about him now that Alice seemed to be here all the time but he knew, logically, that he wasn't going to be pushed aside. Hatter was just trying to dodge Harry's question with a guess of his own. Classic misdirection technique and Harry wasn't about to fall for it.

"If you're so sure that's the case then answer me this query, cousin," Harry stated with only a touch of bite after his outburst, "Where's Robert?"

His cousin was about to fire an answer back before a look of uncertainty passed over his face for a moment and that was all the conformation Harry needed to know he'd made his point. Hatter clearly saw the satisfied smirk on his face and was the image of calm and collected once more as he replied, "Well he's gone job hunting again hasn't he. That's what he's been doing last few weekdays."

Harry raised a single eyebrow, "Must be some job interview to keep him out of the place since Sunday morning then yeah?"

He watched Hatter's thought process filter across his face as his cousin frowned at first when he attempted to remember when he last saw Mr. Hamilton. Then go slightly wide eyed once he noticed Harry was right, which was quickly followed by a muttered swear under his breath. Hatter gaze was intense and worried as he looked back at Harry now, "You're sure about that then?" Harry nodded.

His cousin let out an attempt at a calming breath after downing the last of his tea, "It's no wonder they never bottled love if it can even make a bloke like me this disconnected."

At first Harry thought his cousin was just joking about and opened his mouth to call him on it until he noticed how serious Hatter was being. Harry's mouth fell from his triumphant smirk to a gape and his eyes widened at the truth in his cousin's statement, "You…you love Alice? Like, really love and not just the pretty words you normally throw around at girls? And she feels the same way?"

Hatter's mouth quirked upwards in an echo of that silly grin he'd been sporting the last few days, "Seems that way yeah."

"Huh," Harry ineloquently stated as leaned forward on the counter to process this information. It certainly explained why they'd both been acting so weird he supposed. He couldn't remember ever seeing what two people in love acted like, and his fuzzy memories of life with the Dursleys certainly didn't compare. Now that he thought about it though, Hatter and Alice had sorta looked like his parents did in their wedding photo; big sappy grins and all. Did that mean they'd be getting married soon? Is that what people in love did on Earth? Harry was fairly sure that wasn't how it went in Wonderland, though admittedly he hadn't really paid the subject all that much attention.

Happy to finally have an answer, though still confused about this whole dating process, Harry asked innocently, "When did that happen?"

"Not quite sure myself," Hatter chuckled as he smiled at his young cousin, "Sometime between running from an enraged Jabberwock and having my brain bleed out my ears best I can figure. We can talk more about this in a mo' but have I really missed Robert not being around?"

"Yeah," Harry frowned as he leaned back in his chair, "When I noticed I hadn't seen him for over a day Monday morning, I didn't worry about it too much as I figured you'd tell me if I should be. It was only late last night I'd realized that if the person wasn't named Alice, your focus wasn't wholly committed to them." Harry winced as that last bit came out more bitter than he'd intended.

Hatter appeared properly chastised by the remark though, "Sorry about that Little Potter."

"S'alright," Harry tried to shrug the whole thing off feeling slightly embarrassed about it, but Hatter shook his head.

"No, it's not, and I'm glad you said something. Not just because I may have bollixed the situation with Robert," his cousin stated before staring thoughtfully at the empty tea cup in front of him. "I'll have to scout him out after our errands. Maybe he's just been staying with Carol since Alice and I have been so…"

"Weird?" Harry supplied with a smile.

Instead of a smile and a return joke, Hatter looked at Harry thoughtfully for a span before making up his mind about something as he moved to set his dishes in the sink. "Pretty sure I've gone about this the backwards way with you Little Potter. Why don't you keep me company while I get ready, and we can continue our chat about me and Alice? Maybe even talk a bit about girls in general too yeah?"

* * *

A little less than two hours later found the cousins waiting to meet with Mr. Addams. Hatter was watching in amusement at Harry's slowly diminishing embarrassment from the conversation they finished just moments ago. He'd successfully skirted certain topics, as he was fairly sure Harry wouldn't be jumping into bed with a girl anytime soon, but just talking about the basics of how relationships work and the changes his little cousin would be going through soon were enough to fluster the pre-teen. Hatter figured a touch of embarrassment was better than learning about the facts of life on the streets like he had though.

Harry's face was almost its normal color again by the time the brunette from the other day, who cheerfully introduced herself as Margaret, informed them that Mr. Addams was ready for them. The office she showed them to continued with same dark oppressive theme as the reception, though this room had a more masculine feel to it with the additions of mounted animal heads and various swords displayed on the walls. A fit looking middle-aged man stood up from behind his desk to greet them as soon as Margaret closed the door.

"Welcome Mr. Hatter," the man smiled broadly in a manner that was both welcoming and slightly sinister.

He felt the thin mustache or the gleam in the man's eye may have had something to do with it. Hatter shook the offered hand anyway and made sure to introduce Harry as well before taking the vacant seats across from the desk.

"So what can we Addams help you with my good man?" Mr. Addams stated as he took a draw from an already existing cigar, "Criminal charges? Wills? I must warn you that we do not accept cases for medical malpractice."

"Nothing quite so grand I'm afraid," Hatter replied cautiously, "Just recently come into a spot of inheritance through Gringotts ya see, and we've come upon a sticky situation once we perused the files. A sort of legal mystery if you will."

An eager light shone in the man's eyes at the mentioning of the goblin run bank and he leaned forward, "Did you find proof of the goblins' shorting you? I've tangled with them before on such matters, and they are fierce opposition." That was something Hatter could easily believe from his limited experience with the unnerving creatures.

Hatter shook his head and passed a file with copies of the pertinent documents that Alice had helped him make, "No, things with goblins are all set. This is more to do with the legal system in magical Brittan best we can figure."

Mr. Addams skimmed the documents with the marked sections rather quickly and made a noise of interest as he closed the file, "Yes, I can see how some of these irregularities might worry you," and took a few thoughtful puffs of his cigar before looking back at the pair.

Hatter spent the next few minutes stating his goals with this information with Mr. Addams while Harry quietly absorbed the information. They hadn't talked about the subject much as Hatter wasn't sure how Harry felt about working to dig up information on his parent's death, but if the lad had any objections he didn't make them known. By the end of the meeting Mr. Addams agreed to take on the case, though not with quite as much enthusiasm as he displayed at the beginning when the possibility of murder or goblin dealings hung in the air.

It was hard for Hatter to trust such an unknown with sensitive information, but Alice had assured him there were laws that would protect him from such actions here in her world. The lawyer had warmed on him though by the end thanks to his open personality as it had made his character easy to read.

Mr. Addams, or Gomez as he insisted Hatter call him after accepting their request, said that he would be in contact by bird or phone when he'd found something, but since it was an international case that it might take some time to do, legally. They bid their farewells and Hatter spent the short walk to the wand store answering some of Harry's questions about the whole situation regarding the mysterious Sirius Black. It left his cousin in a bit of a foul mood when he realized the implications it had on his life with the Dursleys and Hatter could only hope seeing to the progress with their wands would cheer him up.

Ollivander's was devoid of any life when they entered and Harry quickly did as requested by ringing the small bell at the counter. A few seconds later, a frazzled version of the saleswoman they'd spoken with a few days ago poked her head out from the back door and gave a shout or surprise. "Oh good! You've come!" she excitedly proclaimed, "Just wait right here and I'll bring them right out!"

She disappeared back behind the door for less than a minute before bursting back through with two thin boxes in hand and a slightly more put together appearance. "I don't know what creature you got that fur from kid, but I hadn't had this much of a challenge working with core material since some Greek fellow brought me that Chimera fur a few years back," she excitedly babbled as she set the boxes down on the counter and took of the lids, "I've been working on the pair non stop since Sunday and, well, give them a look!"

Hatter eyed the piece of wood warily before picking it up, not entirely sure it wouldn't blow up in his face with a bit of Cheshire in it. Harry on the other hand held no such qualms as he quickly snatched his wand out of the box. The reaction was instantaneous.

A face splitting grin shone underneath a spray of silver and purple sparks that glittered and swirled about him for a moment as he swung the wand in front of him once. Harry was laughing outright as they tapered off and gave a thrill of excitement, "This is brilliant! I could feel the rush before I'd even grabbed it properly!"

He looked up at his cousin in anticipation, "Go on then! You've got to feel this Hatter!"

Well…Harry didn't seem to be wearing an adverse affects from it. Taking a steadying breath, Hatter carefully picked up the remaining wand. While not quite the way Harry described it, Hatter could feel the rush of what could only be magic running through him and connecting with the bit of wood. Without any prompting on his behalf, his right hand twirled it once between his fingers before give it a flick of his wrist, causing a shower of dark purple, silver and black to shoot out of it along with what he could have sworn was the distant sound of a throaty purr. It felt strange, powerful, scary and addictive all at the same time and Hatter wasn't quite sure what to make of that.

The sound of clapping and a high pitched squeal caused him to blink out of his thoughts as he looked over to see the sales woman jump in place with excitement for a moment. "Oh I knew all that extra time would pay off!" she proclaimed victoriously, "Just give me a few minutes to put on the sealing coat and you can take them with you today. If you ever get your hands on more of this stuff let me know, I'd love to experiment with it some more!"

* * *

He knew this wasn't the right way to be dealing with his problem and yet…

Robert Hamilton stared at the door before him, willing it to make his decision.

He regretted lashing out at Alice that night back at the apartment, but surely she'd forgive him after David spoke with her? The former Tea Pusher knew the most, after himself of course, what he might be dealing with. One look at the happy couple on his way out the door Sunday morning did nothing to help the anger and confusion coursing through him as it only reminded him of what he'd lost. Carol had been pleased to see him when he'd shown up at her door a brisk walk later, and seeing her smile had helped if only for awhile. His heart clenched with guilt. Carol…

She and Alice were his world, his hope, and he felt torn about what to tell her. He'd never been comfortable with lying to his wife, even when they'd been dating in college, and took keep something so big from her now was eating him up inside. She deserved better. He let out a sigh. She deserved someone who was whole at the very least.

He'd almost told her everything right then, but fear of her rejection kept him from doing so. His story was so outlandish to any normal person and their relationship was still so very fragile…but he desperately needed someone who could understand and accept him. Logically he knew the odds of her accepting such a fantastical story has risen with the discovery of a magical society on this side of the glass, but he knew it wasn't something he could do alone. No, such a revelation to her without backup and evidence would likely destroy what little chance of a life together that they had gained since their reunion. So who to speak to then?

Alice, though he loved her dearly, would surely look upon him with pity if he confided in her which would then be followed by her walking on eggshells around him. Neither of which would help.

Hatter was certainly someone he could speak open with, but for all the conman wore his emotions on his sleeve when it came to Alice and his young cousin, he just didn't feel comfortable talking to the man about this. Oh he surely knew parts of the puzzle already as both cousins had assisted in his recovery before their journey out of Wonderland, but that wasn't quite the same was it? And that was how he found himself standing before this door, contemplating his next move.

He frowned in aggravation. It was so much easier to work with the emotions when they'd not been his own.

Robert had mulled over his plan for the better part of a day before coming to the only logical decision he could think of. He needed answers and he needed them from someone who wouldn't sugar coat the truth for him. Someone he could speak his mind with about all that had happened and even all that could. Hopefully someone he could even confide in his concerns about how his once and, dare he hope, one day future wife might take to the revelation of magic existing.

With his resolve gathered once more, Robert pushed his distracting thoughts aside and opened the door before him.

* * *

Author's Comments: Sorry this chapter's on the short side. Plot wrangling and vacation dealings have kept me from having more time to write and polish. I'm actually posting this from my hotel in Orlando cause I love you readers so very very much ^_~.

I've been hinting that somethings not quite right with Robert for sometime now, though no one seems to have noticed. Any guessers? Who could he have gone to see I wonder? Well...I don't wonder, but I'm sure you all might ^_~ Carol will make an appearance next chapter (finally for some of you I'm sure) and then we'll really get in to the time skips as the day to day lives won't be so plot filled.

Many thanks to everyone who reviewed and those who continue to do so! They make me want to write a better story for you all and I'm pretty sure that's an admirable goal yeah? Hope you all have a lovely weekend and I'll do my best to get back on a normal update schedule once more. ^_^

Posted 9/10/2010


	6. Life isn't always fair

_Chapter 6: Life isn't always fair, but it shouldn't cheat that much_

"How was I supposed to know it would be that sensitive," Harry protested as he walked with Hatter towards Alice's dojo, "The one I found in your shop didn't do anything like that when I practiced with it!"

"Yeah and you know what else it didn't do," his cousin calmly responded, "Turn an entire tunnel as bright as the sun when you touched it either." He looked around before quirking an eyebrow down at Harry and continuing, "You're just lucky I was able to convince that guard we were going straight back to the flat so he didn't confiscate it. They don't take kindly to all this magic business out in the open on this side of the glass remember? Now quit your crowing. You'll get it back when we go back to the flat and no sooner. No matter how often you try and swindle me contrariwise."

Hatter's small smirk near the end of his statement assured Harry his cousin wasn't upset about the incident, more amused then anything, but Harry still let out a huff in irritation at being denied his new wand anyway. He could only assume his cousin had felt the same soaring sensation as he when he'd grabbed his own wand unless he was wrong (Harry would swear he saw the same feeling in Hatter's eyes at the time!), and therefore had no idea what denying him by refusing to just let him carry it till they got back to the flat was doing to him!

Ever since he'd begun living with Hatter he'd been excited about magic and learning what he could do with it. He could even remember the proud grin on his cousin's face when he learned to control his first ability (spell he mentally corrected himself, they call them spells on this side), and had sought out all things magical with a passion that had yet to dissipate. His head was filled with things to try from the moment they left the wand shop today thanks to the various magical books he'd entertained himself with while Hatter and Alice had been…occupied, the past few days. They had spells for just about everything it seemed! Much like his great-uncle's journal had mentioned, the only limit seemed to be his imagination, and practice.

The selfish part of him insisted on trying to persuade Hatter again to just drop him off at the flat with his wand. After all, it wasn't really his fault Robert was unaccounted for, why did he need to be dragged along on this quest? Harry felt the odds of anything spectacular happening on this undertaking where likely slim to none compared to the adventure he'd just been a part of back in Wonderland after all.

He stomped that train of thought down with a frown. Wasn't Robert his friend though? Or at least friendly enough with him that he should be concerned for the adult's safety, knowing everything that could be going on with the former Distiller as he did? Harry couldn't remember his desire to learn new magic being so overpowering before he got his wand today…but that rush of energy that came with using his new wand had felt so good!

Confused by his conflicting emotions, Harry shook his head to try and clear it and when he looked about at his surrounding, noticed they were only a few feet away from Alice's dojo now, and that he didn't really remember any of the walk there. A sobering wave passed through him at that realization as he decided that maybe it was a good thing his cousin was holding onto his wand after all…

Determined to focus more on his surroundings, as Goddesses only knew what Hatter would say if he knew Harry had phased out the trip here, Harry sped up to get in front of his cousin and open the barred door for the Dojo. Hatter gave him a curious look at his sudden attentiveness, but Harry just smiled back innocently and followed his cousin inside. Seeing who was working the desk today gave Harry a real reason to grin though as he jogged up to the receptionist.

"Afternoon Ms. Nicole!" he announced with grin and the young brunette smiled brightly as she looked up from her computer.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite pair of Brits," she beamed at them both equally and Hatter gave her a wide smile and a tip of his hat.

"You're looking lovely as always," Hatter charmed, causing Ms. Nicole to shoot him an exasperated look.

"You're a flirt and a lair. I look like I swallowed a beach ball is what I look like," she frowned and poked the top of her very rounded stomach, before sighing and looking back up at the two cousins, "but I know you didn't swing by to hear my pregnancy woes. Alice is on the second floor, right side today. Just hug the walls as you go in like usual, she should be done with that group in just a few minutes." A thud followed by a masculine groan came from the above room she'd indicated, which caused Ms. Nicole to smirk evilly once she heard it before going back to her work.

Confused, but not wanting to question the reaction, they assured her they would be quiet and thanked her for the information before heading up to the practice room. Harry quickly made his way towards the back right corner where many of Alice's students kept some of their belongings and settled in to watch the end of class.

He'd seen little of Alice's fighting ability back in Wonderland, and the first time she'd invited Hatter and himself to watch her practice with her fellow instructors had left him in awe. She made Hater look like an amateur with the skills she possessed. Harry had immediately asked to be taught how to fight like that and Alice had said she'd be happy to take him on, but that he'd have to wait until after the spring sessions had ended as she didn't want him just jumping into the middle of things without any experience. He'd understood her reasoning of course, but had given her his best pathetic face anyway until she agreed to show him a few things if she had time at the end of classes whenever he came by.

Hatter had teased her about falling for Harry's trick for the rest of the week.

Harry knew Alice wouldn't be able to teach him anything today, since they had to go hunt down Robert, so instead, he made sure to get a good seat and just observe. Based off the belt colors her students were wearing, he could tell this was one of her advanced classes and right now she was sparing individually with one man who was sweating profusely. The pair stared at each other for a span before the man lunged forward with his right hand aggressively, but Alice blocked it with swift grace and made to grab her opponent's shirt. The man moved right to dodge and kick out her legs when Harry blinked and heard the man land with a thud on the floor. He frowned as he noticed Alice standing at the man's feet as if she'd knocked him down from behind. As she bent down to help the man back up and dismissed him (to the young man's visible relief) before addressing her class, Harry tried to run the end of the spar through his mind again. Had Alice always been that fast? He didn't visit the high level classes very often but he couldn't say for sure.

Alice ended the class after her speech with a bow and grabbed her water bottle from the window ledge before walking over. Harry noticed she didn't look the least bit out of breath either, but he supposed that could be expected. She was the teacher after all.

"Hello beautiful," Hatter smiled before greeting Alice with a short kiss, "That bloke do something in particular to make you upset today?" Harry was surprised to see his cousin was talking about how quickly she seemed to dispatch the young man as well from the concern visible on his face, and watched as Alice looked ashamed before laughing lightly.

"Evan? No, he didn't do anything to me and I wouldn't have…" she struggled find the right words.

"Cheated?" Hatter supplied innocently and Alice shot him a glare.

"I was going to say be aggressive, but Nicole, his fiancée, asked me to bruise him up a bit before class today. Apparently he just ordered a new car and has been driving her crazy talking about it," she retorted with a raised eyebrow and flickered a glance down at Harry, "I wasn't expecting you two to come by today though. What's up?"

Hatter took a glance about the room, "Well you see, there's a bit of problem with your Da'-"

"Is he alright?" Alice interrupted quickly, "I mean he's not hurt or anything is he?"

Hatter looked down at Harry then and he just gave his cousin a shrug. He didn't really have a clue, but he wasn't going to risk Alice's anger by saying anything. "No, I'm sure he's fine and, safeish," Hatter smiled nervously, "You know, wherever he may be."

Alice paled, "He wasn't kidnapped or something again was he?"

"What?" Hatter seemed taken a back, "No, no, nothin' like that he's just…ya know, not around. And…"

Harry waited for a few seconds before jumping in when it became clear his cousin wasn't having any luck, and Alice was just staring at him confused, before coming to his rescue. "He popped out Sunday morning and I haven't seen him since," Harry supplied and Alice, though still looking confused, smiled and shook her head.

"I'm sure he's been back since then," she assured them, "I mean, I would have noticed if he'd been…"

Harry smirked as he got to watch a repeat of his cousin's performance this morning pass across Alice's face, except she ended with a bit of a blush as she looked away from Harry and back up at his cousin. "I mean ok, so we were a little distracted the past few days, but if my Dad had disappeared, surely I would have, WE would have…" she attempted to plead but Hatter just shook his head.

"Harry pointed it out to me this morning as well and he's right. I can't remember seeing your Da' after Sunday morning," Hatter assured her before putting a steadying hand on her arm, "Which is why we came by when we did. Do you have any ideas on where he might have gone Alice? I phoned your Mum and she hasn't seen him either."

Alice sighed with worry and began to rub her forearm as she thought. It wasn't long though before she paused to stare at the spot she'd been rubbing, and then suddenly jerked her head up to look at Hatter, "I think I have an idea."

* * *

Giving the handle one last jiggle, John Carpenter ran his hand down the window pane as he felt the locking and alarm enchantments he'd built into the door activate. The one that had come with the property had of course required the use of a wand the he could not wield and he'd been forced to rebuild a replica of the door with his own skills to get the wards to work. The only problem being that as long as he ran the shop, neither his wand wielding daughter nor his store assistants would ever be able to close or open the shop. Since Ursula and he preferred the mid-day outings as was custom back in Wonderland though, it bothered him very little.

A smile grew on his face as he pictured his lovely wife. No doubt she'd be teaching Abigail how to cook once more tonight and he made a mental tick to pick up some meat pies in the event that his daughters cooking was not quite edible again. Thinking of his family also had the unfortunate side effect this evening of reminding him of his recently completed conversation. John shook his head with lament as he thought upon the troubled man. Things in Wonderland had truly been worse than he feared since he'd left, and he could only hope his insight would help that man toward a better path.

Laying his concerns aside, John turned around and began the familiar journey to the park side entrance when a familiar set of people heading toward his shop caught his eye. There were few shoppers out and about during the dinner hours on Mulberry Street, and the trio he'd spotted were walking with a purpose none of their others possessed. Checking his pocket watch first, John deduced that if he cut out his plans to pick up a snack, he could spare the new residents a short conversation; though he was surprised they'd received the good news so soon.

The one aptly called Hatter spotted him first and easily directed his family towards the very end of his shop that he was waiting for them at. John noticed they didn't seem as pleased as he hoped they'd be. Had they all not got on well enough the other day during their first visit? He'd certainly thought so. Figuring it would be best to smooth things over, he greeted his fellow Wonderlanders with a smile and a wave as they drew near.

"Good evening," he greeted pleasantly once they stood before him, "It's good to see you three once more. Though, I must admit, I hadn't thought it you would get the note so soon."

The adults exchanged a confused glance while the son questioned him, "Did you send one by bird or somthin'?"

John chuckled, "Well not I personally, but your old connector must have sent a missive around tea time I'd imagine. He was quite keen to go back after all."

"Go back?" Hatter furrowed his brow, "You mean back through the Looking Glass?"

"Well, yes, of course I do," John supplied as his own face slipped into confusion. "Are you not here to speak to me about my appointment as your new contact and Connector?" Seeing the surprise on their features at this announcement (but thankfully no anger) John had to wonder why the family had felt the need to come round with such determination then and asked just that.

"We were hoping you'd seen my father," the lovely brunette whose name escaped him supplied, "He's been missing for over a day and knowing who you are and what you used to do, I though he might've come to see you."

John didn't know what to say to young woman. He didn't remember ever being introduced to her father and seeing the anxiety so clearly on her face twisted at his heart in sympathy.

Some of his confusion must have been visible to Hatter (not a surprising skill for a former Tea Pusher to be able to do really) as the man made some sort of connection about the situation. "It's Robert," he stated abruptly, "The bloke who was with us when he first popped by? His name's Robert Hamilton and that's who we're looking about for."

"Couldn't you tell he was Alice's Dad?" the young boy piped in with a raise eyebrow.

Several connections were quickly formed in the former Carpenter's mind then. Absently he felt his eyes travel between the trio before him as his brain caught up with them. Poor Robert's tale of woe now had faces to go with the story. Hatter and Harry, the young pair who ran the Tea Shop and had helped him find some order in his life outside of his broken family. Yes, he'd felt very indebted to them for all they done for not only him but for his daughter. John's eyes widened as he looked back at the young woman then with fresh perspective.

Robert's daughter. The new Alice of Legend.

"You're Alice," he stated in an almost whispered reverence at the realization and his active mind took in everything about her. She had just the frame for an Alice. A small figure for innocence, eyes they held wells of curiosity, and the color of the skies that would forever adorn her and mark her coming. How could he not have seen this before! It must have been the lack to golden hair, but still! What a stupendous occasion! What an honor! "You're THE Alice!" he blurted out excitedly and reached for her.

Only to find the man, Hatter, blocking his path with a frown and a pull on the strap of his waistcoat pulling him back towards his shop that he absently noted must have been caused by the young boy who'd left his vision. "Looks like you're Da's been by alright," Hatter commented to Alice, "Least to pander on about his famous daughter yeah?"

Alice gave Hatter a frown at that but turned her gaze back towards John, "He's been here then? Has he been staying with you?"

"Yes! I mean no," John cleared his head with a shake as he tried to ride the excitement from his system so his mind could process once more. He could analyze the new Alice's story at home this evening with his family. Right now she needed his aide and woe be upon him not to meet to such a task with all of his skill.

"He was here," John clarified, "Came by around luncheon today looking quite troubled about something and asked if I couldn't spare a moment and a piece of my mind. Having just this morning been appointed as your new Connector, well, I thought it only proper to assist him in anyway I could."

"You mentioned that before. What happened to the other bloke?" the young boy interjected as he moved back around him into view and Alice moved out from behind Hatter's protective stance with a defiant look.

John quickly made to correct his assumptions from the beginning of their impromptu meeting as he did not want to bring Alice's ire upon him by delaying her information. "Hare, your old Connector, has long desired to return to Wonderland and given the opportunity to do so recently, I've been promoted but we can discuss that in a bit," he pressed on as he looked at Alice, "As I said, he was by and we talked at length about some of his woes and…inner conflict he's been experiencing."

Hatter tensed at his statement, "Was he acting off at all?" The former Tea Pusher glanced at Alice and then back at him, "Or maybe lookin' like he'd lost all Hope?"

"No, no," John waved off the man's concerns, "I can hazard what you might be referring to, having worked around Oysters and strong emotions for a time as well, but his feelings were more akin to depression or very strong sorrow I believe." Alice seemed torn between various emotions as she looked between Hatter and himself, while Hatter and the young boy seemed relieved to hear his statement. Curious that…

A head shake later and John was back on track, "We talked of many things during his visit and chief among those seemed to be his concern about his reconnecting with his wife." John gave Alice a look of sympathy then, "I must confess that I feel somewhat responsible for that after he told me about his position within the Queen's courts, and what had been done to him. So I gave him the only advice that I felt would help. And after discussing how best to proceed, he left about," John took in the time from his pocket watch, "an hour passed or so."

"Did he say where he was going?" Alice pressed immediately.

Just as he'd opened his mouth to speak though, a series of chirps sounded from Alice's jacket. "Hang on," Alice muttered as she dung around inside and emerged with one of the Oyster portable phones that John had noted were becoming quite popular among the magicals lately.

Alice gave a small smile upon seeing who was calling and held the device to her ear, "Hey Mom." Her face turned into a frown then as she listened to the person on the other end and John had a feeling he knew what this call was about. Seeing Alice's look of surprise as she glanced at her companions and them himself only confirmed it.

"Okay Mom, Don't worry we'll be right there," Alice finally responded, "I'm sure everything's fine. I promise." She took the phone away and ended the call before putting it back in her pocket. "Dad's at Mom's place," Alice told Hatter with a sigh before giving John a glare, "He's been telling her everything."

"Like everything everything?" the boy asked with raise eyebrows, "Even about-"

"Yeah," she nodded, "Sounds like he just finished telling her the whole story and Mom excused herself so she could call me to come over. She's thinks he might be crazy." The last part came out as a shaky laugh and Hatter wrapped her in a quick hug before giving her a kiss on the head.

"We knew this'd happen eventually love. No use worryin' about chopped heads and all of that yeah?" Hatter stated and John nodded wisely at the advise; while Alice stepped out of the embrace and shook her head.

She let out a sigh, "Just when I think I've heard all of your weird analogies, you bring out a reference to someone losing their head as a saying for comfort." The smirk she sent Hatter at the end was met with another as the Tea Pusher quipped back.

"This coming from the woman who lives in a world that has a children's song about a deadly plague that killed thousands of people yeah?"

Alice smiled in amusement before facing John, "Looks like we have our answer. Thanks for your help though."

He shook her offered hand with a smile, "Anytime my dear, anytime." A sudden thought occurred to him then as he pulled a letter out of his inner jacket pocket and held it out for Hatter to take. "Take this before you go," John insisted, "As your new Connector, I was tasked with passing this on to you. It's what I thought you'd come by for in the first place."

Hatter took it and made to open it right there but John placed his hand over it to keep the man from doing so, meeting Hatter's questioning gaze with a look of seriousness, "Don't read it just yet. It can wait a day or two. Just be sure to swing by once you have so we can discuss it."

Hatter nodded and the trio exchanged goodbyes with John before rushing back towards the central exit. He watched them go until they'd left his sight before checking the time once more and wincing. Ursula would have his own head for being so late no doubt, and there was certainly no time to stop for a meat pie on the way as he'd originally intended. John grinned suddenly as his mind reflected upon his evening before letting out a small chuckle. Apparently, he would have his own unbelievable tale to convince his family about tonight

Even if everything else was folly and madness, one thing about the Alice tales seemed to be holding true. They certainly had a knack for stirring things up and causing chaos.

It was no wonder the Cheshire's loved her so.

* * *

Hatter watched as the door cracked open after Alice's rapid knocking and Carol's head sighed with relief upon seeing who was there. "Finally," she whispered before looking behind her for a moment, and then stepping out into the hall to speak with them privately it seemed.

"I'm glad you got here so quickly," Carol confided in them and then spoke straight to Alice, "You're father's been acting very peculiar the last few days but after what he just told me…" Carol sighed and crossed her arms in front of her, "I think he might have a serious mental problem from his kidnapping Alice."

Alice just smiled comfortingly and turned her mom around, "Let's not talk about this in the hall Mom. Why don't we all head in and discuss this together? I'm sure we can clear everything up." Her daughter's words didn't seem to appease Carol at all, but she allowed Alice to lead the small group back inside anyway.

During their walk over, Hatter, Alice, and Harry had debated the best way to deal with the situation of explaining magic to Carol, and getting her to accept it. It was a topic they'd only briefly discussed after being reunited over a month ago but unfortunately, none of those scenarios involved Carol finding out like this. Alice was always adamant that her mother would need proof before she'd believe anything, and Harry was more than willing to provide a demonstration of some of his abilities for her of course, but it wasn't as if they could just spring magic upon the poor woman as soon as they walked inside. Hatter and Harry had been hoping they would've been able to sit her down after a lovely Sunday dinner one week and relate the grand tale for everyone's enjoyment. Harry had even practice playing the part of Jack for some bits of the story as he could change his hair color easily enough, and often had Alice in stitches parading around the flat like he imagined the haughty King would.

All of these plans were nothing but smoke now though as Robert had taken the option completely out of their hands by approaching Carol on his own. While Hatter didn't fault the man for wanting to be honest with his wife, a little notice would have been preferred.

Once inside the apartment, Hatter could see the former Distiller was presently hunched over a mug of tea and looking quite frustrated. Seeing the three of them enter behind Carol filled his eyes with a spark of hope though, and Hatter relaxed slightly to see it there. If a break down was to happen, now would be the worse time for it seeing as he had nothing on hand to help the man. If Robert could just make it past this point though, Hatter felt confident the Docs back in Wonderland must have been mistaken about the risk of a transformation in the first place.

Alice sat down with her mum on the couch, so the two cousins picked the chairs opposite for themselves. "Okay Mom," Alice began calmly, "Why don't you tell us what Dad's been talking about that has you so concerned."

Carol regarded her daughter's strangely calm form with scrutiny before turning that look upon Hatter as well. "You know don't you," the woman announced as she faced Alice again, "You know about these delusions he's having about magic, and alternate worlds, and, and you're what? Encouraging him?" She pulled her hands out of Alice's hold and placed them upon her daughter's shoulder's instead, "Sweetie, I know you've missed you're father, but…allowing him to think that fantastical story happened isn't doing either of you any good."

Carol gave a sigh before removing her hands and giving them all a stern look, "I expected better than that from you Alice."

"Carol please, I'm not deluded," Robert pleaded from the other end of the couch, but Carol silenced him as she held up her hand and stood up.

"I don't want to hear it," she insisted firmly, "I knew this reunion was all too good to be true, and here is the proof of it." Carol glared at Hatter now, "I doubt you even work for some missing persons company do you? Robert's just been wandering drunk or something since he left us and somehow convinced you to help him worm his way back into our home and, and, our hearts." Carol had become choked up at the end of her rant and took a few steps away to stand with her back to them. While angry at her accusation, Hatter wasn't sure what to say to her at first without sounding immediately defensive; which would only cause her to shut down anything they tried to tell her afterwards. Harry looked ready to tackle the woman for saying such things if Hatter was reading his glare right, and Robert had resumed his crestfallen posture.

Thankfully for them all, Alice was never one to back down from a challenge.

"Don't you dare take this out on Hatter," Alice bit out as she stood to confront her mother, who'd turned at Alice's speaking. "He has done nothing but help this family since we met and I won't have you speak to him like that." Hatter felt honored and flustered to have his Alice defend him so, and felt his ire deflating as he smiled. She always looked so lovely when she was riled up on a cause.

"And why can't it all be true?" Alice insisted before Carol could speak, "Why can't there be a world with cities built as tall as the clouds, and creatures beyond anything you've imagined?"

"Because it's not possible Alice," Carol broke in, "Magic isn't real and fairytales only exist in books. He's using your favorite story to buy his way back in Alice. Can't you see that sweetie?" Hatter felt sorry for Carol then. She seemed so desperate to cling to her false beliefs and security that it felt wrong to shatter them.

Alice stood firm though and shook her head sadly, "You know Mom…I used to think the same thing, until the night of our dinner with Jack. I had my adventure and I found Daddy. The world is so much more than you think it is." She looked at Harry then and gave him a nod, "Show her Harry."

Harry looked anxious about being put on the spot during such a family moment, and yet excited about performing magic. Hatter gave him a reassuring nod when the lad looked at him for permission, "S'alright Harry. Show her what you can do."

With a grin, Harry hopped up and walked over towards Mrs. Hamilton. The woman looked confused at the young boy and Harry laughed when she flinched back from his outstretched hand. "Don't worry," his cousin smiled as he gripped her white sweater, "I won't hurt you or anything."

Immediately after Harry spoke, Carol's sweater started to change color as a deep green soaked it's way up from the hem where Harry had taken hold of it, and quickly worked it's way up and around till no white remained. Carol gasped as she watched it happen and Harry moved back to stand by his chair as everyone watched with baited breath while she inspected her clothing.

Hatter was sure they'd won the woman over with the small performance, but when Carol looked back up at Robert; her face was as impassive as before. "I didn't think you'd stoop so low as to bring a child into your charade as well Robert."

"Mom!" Alice gasped.

"Carol I had nothing to do with-" Robert sputtered defensively but Carol broke him off again.

"We went to Vegas together Robert, and I saw those stage magicians do stunts more complicated then this," she gestured at the still green sweater. "What did you do, set-up a trigger dye on it or something while I was sleeping? I'm sure you figured something out. You were a noted chemist at one point after all."

It was at that point that Hatter knew he'd finally found the impossible. Someone more thick headed and stubborn then his Alice.

Harry, who'd been gaping at the woman's denial, had become upset at the dismissal of one of his oldest and hard learned skills. "He had nothing to do with," Harry stated fiercely, "I learned how to change colors almost two years ago thanks."

Carol sighed and glared at Robert once more before giving Harry a pacifying look, "It's okay to tell me the truth Harry. You don't have to lie for Robert."

"I'm not lying!" Harry glared and Hatter felt the need to quickly intervene as he tired to grab Harry's arm to get him to settle down before he lost control of his magic.

"Don't worry about it Little Potter," he reassured his cousin, "We'll try another one yeah?"

Harry was having none of it though as he jerked out of Hatter's hold like Alice had taught him, "Yeah, let's try another one then." His cousin frowned at Carol, "Can they do something like this in Vegas?"

He placed his hands on the front on the armchair he'd been sitting in and frowned at it. It only took a tick of the clock until Hatter's prediction came true and the chair grew rapidly in size as Harry lost control of his magic. Alice pulled her mom back and Robert leapt off the couch as the chair began to push furniture out of its way the larger it got. Hatter processed this only in the back on his mind though as he swore and grabbed Harry before the chair could topple him over, and moved them out of the way.

Just as it started to push against the beams at the top of the almost thirty foot high ceiling, the chair thankfully stopped growing and Hatter let out a sigh of relief. Looking down at his cousin he could see the strain from the rapid use of his magic had caused him to pass out as usual. He grunted as he picked the lad up and then laid him down on the couch, now pressed up against the back wall, before going to help the others.

Robert was dusting himself off and waved off Hatter's concern while admiring the impressive feat of magic, while Alice was attempting to help her shocked mother stand up. Hatter took to the opposite side and grabbed Carol about her waist while Alice tried to get her attention.

"Mom," she waved her hand a few times before snapping her fingers as well, "Mom snap out of it, are you ok?"

"Alice," her mother finally blinked and looked about the room once before staring at the chair again, "Alice, he…the chair…I…it's not possible."

"I think the word you're looking for is not probable actually," Hatter interjected with a smirk.

"You kinda deserved that," Alice smile as she crossed her arms, "Harry was trying to be nice about showing you magic, but you pushed his buttons." She frowned then as she looked over her shoulder at Harry's prone form and then back at Hatter, "He'll be alright won't he?"

Carol had moved out of his supporting arm at that point and was slowly moving towards the giant chair. "Oh sure," he waved Alice off, "He normally passes out for a mo' if he uses too much magic like this when he's frustrated. He'll be fine."

Hatter watched as Carol held out a shaky hand to touch her new chair before yanking it back a second later as if burned. "It's real," she whispered. "It's really real," she stated a bit louder before touching the chair in awe this time.

"I've never seen anything like it," she declared before turning around to look at everyone again.

Alice gave her a cheeky smile with a shrug, "Well, I've seen a mushroom over a hundred feet tall, but I know where you're coming from."

Things went much smoother with Carol after the incredible growing chair incident thankfully. She asked to hear Alice's story after she got over her shock, and while occasionally giving her daughter a skeptical glance, didn't question that the events actually happened this time. Alice painted Hatter in a much kinder light than he would have, and down played Robert's actions against the Oysters of course, but Carol finally had the entire truth. Something that seemed to please Robert to no end and to lesser degree, Alice as well.

Harry was sadly passed out during the entire retelling and wasn't able to help reenact the thrilling tale as he'd hoped. This also forced the adults to sit in a circle on the floor near the hall as the giant chair was currently blocking the only path to the kitchen and Hatter confessed that they would have to wait until Harry was up again to shrink it. He made sure to add the hopefully onto the end of that statement only in his mind.

Hatter's earlier estimate held true though and after about an hour, Harry finally stirred on the couch before sitting up groggily. "Good of you to join us," Hatter quipped as he ruffled the hat down on Harry's head, much to the boy's aggravation as Harry blindly fended off Hatter's hands. "Think you could do us a favor and open up the way to the kitchen then?"

After a moment of pride, Harry appeared properly bashful about his actions earlier and began to slowly shrink the chair back down. Looking like he might pass out again, Carol offered to make him a cup of cocoa as an apology and quickly went off to the kitchen; making sure to give the piece of furniture a wide berth as she passed.

* * *

Deciding it best to give the Hamilton family sometime to bond after the events that evening, Hatter and Harry elected to go back to their own flat after a quick dinner. The others protested it wasn't necessary, with Alice saying she would come with them, but Hatter insisted she stay and promised to be over first thing in the morning.

Once they got back to the empty flat, Harry yawned and remarked how it was the first time since they'd met Alice that the cousins had time alone together. While Hatter knew Harry wasn't up for much after the drain on his magic not too long ago, he decided not to send Harry straight off to bed and instead, put the kettle on for some mint tea.

Harry climbed up on to sit on the stool at the island in the kitchen while he waited for his cuppa. "Hatter," he broached and his cousin looked up at him, "Do you think Alice's mum really believes us about, Wonderland and everything?"

"If I were her I wouldn't," Hatter replied, "It's a tough thing to wrap ones head about Little Potter, finding there's more outside your neat little world than you once believed." Hatter was quiet for a span before continuing, "Carol's just a bit thick like our Alice is all. She just needs time to warm up to the idea yeah?"

"Hmm, I suppose," Harry shrugged before letting out another yawn. "I'll be needing a new name soon by the way."

"Oh?" Hatter smiled before turning around to tend to the whistling kettle, "And how do you reckon that? Don't feel much like a Harry anymore?"

Harry rolled his eyes before accepting a steaming mug from his cousin. "Unlike someone I know, I actually like my first name. Mad as that sounds," he smirked, which Hatter returned. "I mean to say that I'm almost grown out of your name for me is all. Another year or two and I'll be taller then you I'd wager," he taunted and took a careful sip of his tea.

"I'll worry about that in another year or so then now won't I?" Hatter smiled back before enjoying his own cuppa.

"Can't I have one now?" Harry pouted as he leaned against his arm on the counter top while the other spun around his tea cup idly.

Hatter stared at Harry then long enough for his younger cousin to start squirming under his scrutiny before looking a shade sad, which he quickly covered by finishing of his tea. "Plenty of time for that yet," he replied pleasantly while pouring himself another cup, "Might take me that long to think of better one anyway. Be quite the challenge it will."

* * *

After meeting back with the Hamilton's the next morning (seeing Robert making those flat cakes of his again helped reassure the cousins that things were on the mend with the family), Hatter and Alice took sometime to go over the note John had given them the day before. It seemed Jack had finally gotten Hatter's missive about the goblins on this side of the mirror, and their interest in a mutually beneficial arrangement with the Gringotts guild and the Kingdom of Hearts.

Hatter had kept the details of the goblin's offering to the point and while Jack was interested in seeing where this could lead, did not have the time to spare to meet with them personally. It had only been two weeks in Wonderland since Hatter, Harry, and Robert had left and he was quite busy with rebuilding a proper Wonderland. The details to arrange a meeting had already been passed along to the bank but as the only Wonderlander the goblins knew, they were insisting on Hatter's presence during the meeting with the King's representative. To that end, Jack would 'consider it a personal favor if Hatter would take a moment from his undoubtedly busy schedule to escort his advisors to the meeting'.

While not pleased about the situation, Alice had pointed out it wasn't like he wouldn't be there anyway, and whoever they sent through would feel better traveling with a familiar face than a formally hostile member of the Resistance. He hated when she used that logic on him to make things he didn't want to do seem sensible, and argued the point with her a bit longer before finally giving in.

That was how Friday morning; Hatter found himself standing next to John Carpenter outside the Looking Glass near Carol's flat; waiting impatiently for whatever stuffy Suit Jack had sent in his stead to fall through the glass. He'd begun to look around the place in boredom when a tiny ripple across the surface of the Looking Glass caught his eye.

Just as he turned towards it, a figure stepped easily out of it as if he'd just come from a hidden room behind the glass and not another world. The Club stood off to the side and held his hand out just before a feminine hand jolted out and steadied herself on the Club's strong grip as she topped forward. The familiar looking blonde was wearing a formal dress of the house of Hearts that showed off her figure quite admirably and began fixing her appearance. Once he saw her face, Hatter easily recognized her as the Duchess Jack had been on cheating on with Alice and frowned at how much more unpleasant this afternoon was likely to be.

"Thank you Mathew," she told the Club before giving Hatter and John a once over, "I see the King set up quite the welcoming committee for us."

Her back handed remark irritated Hatter more than he wanted to admit since he had no desire to see any member of the Court again, much less be here. "I can go get that bloke Hare instead if you like," Hatter quipped pleasantly, "An old time Resistance member like him would be thrilled to pieces to be around new royalty such as you yeah? Probably give you your proper respect while he's at it no doubt."

The Duchess scowled and Hatter smirked. He didn't have to play their game any longer.

"I'm sure that won't be necessary," Mathew, the Club, spoke up to diffuse the situation, "The pair of you will do just fine I'm sure. The bank guild will be expecting us to arrive shortly, and the King said not to be late." He looked at John then, "How far is the meeting place from here?"

"Oh it's quite a walk," John smiled pleasantly before holding up a cane he brought along for everyone to see, "I thought it might be best if we didn't take the long way and had the goblins make us a port-key for the trip."

Mathew motioned to take the cane and John gladly passed it over for his inspection, "And this cane is said item?" John nodded and the Club inspected it for a moment longer before passing it back to the former Wonderlander. "You look terribly familiar by the way," Mathew commented, "Have we met before?"

John shared a smile with Hatter before looking at the Club, "Possibly in passing before I relocated almost twenty years ago I'm sure."

The Duchess sauntered forward and the clacking of her heels made Hatter appreciate John's forward thinking. If her looks weren't enough, the shoes alone would porobabaly be heard over the noise of the city. John inspected his pocket watch before giving a nod and holding the cane out for everyone to grasp, "Now, be sure to take a firm hold as the port-key will activate shortly and instantly whisk us away to our destination. You'll feel a tug on your middle when it does but don't let go of the cane and try to remain up right when we land."

Something about the way he described the trip cause Hatter to wonder if he should try walking on his own, but once the prissy Duchess grabbed a hold of the cane, he knew he would never live it down if she showed him up and grabbed hold on the bit nearest him as well. John smiled pleasantly and began to count down, giving a sly wink to Hatter after the count of one as he felt a sudden tug on his navel and the world descended into a swirl of colors and buffeting winds.

* * *

"The representatives are accounted for Senior Manager," Kudgtorn informed with a bow upon entering Tackruk's office.

Nodding with approval at the Wonderland King's word to be prompt, Tackruk grabbed the portfolio off his desk and slid off his chair. "Have them escorted to conference room eleven," he order and Kudgtorn gave a brief nod before scurrying off to do his biding. The room was only three doors down from his office and gave the bank manager plenty of time to arrange his proposal before the Potter representative and the King of Hearts' speakers arrived.

With everything in place, Tackruk took his seat just as Kudgtorn escorted the Wonderlanders in. The unfamiliar female was adorned with garments of a high rank, marking her as the King of Hearts' intended mate and would speak for him, meaning the male dressed in black with the club shaped hat was the King's adviser. The three appeared a touch ruffled, most likely from their port-key trip, and quickly took their seats with the Potter descendent on his left and the King's representatives on the right. Tackruk gave them the customary minute to get settled before starting the meeting.

"The reasons for your appearance here today are already known, as is Gringotts' opening proposal," he stated clearly, "Are there any concerns regarding our initial offer before we address the King of Heart's counter offer?"

"Just a few," the adviser spoke up quickly, "Firstly, the King was curious as to how you first learned of our silver."

Tackruk contemplated the adviser's lack of information before staring at the Potter representative, Mr. Hatter. The man attempted to look uncaring as he leaned back in his chair, but did not speak. An admirable tactic. "We harvested minor samples upon Gringotts' initial expedition but a, refined, sample was finally made available to us within the most recent month."

The adviser nodded but the King's mate spoke up before he could continue. "Jack was informed that you had been left destitute upon leaving Wonderland Hatter," she calmly related with a glare, "I imagine he won't be surprised to find out things are contrariwise."

"Jack does have a small assumption problem now doesn't he?" Mr. Hatter replied with a small smile that caused the King's mate to frown. Tackruk made a small note to be wary of dealings with the Potter account, as the current proxy continued to show signs of real business experience.

"His majesty's other inquiry," the adviser attempted to move on, "Was the time frame you've given him to find a solution to the madness your race experiences during prolonged exposure to our world. As he is in the middle of rebuilding our economy and kingdom, he cannot devote the necessary resources to finding such a solution in the time allowed by your initial proposal."

The problems of the Wonderland kingdom were none of Gringotts' concern of course, but Tackruk could understand how it would affect the time allotment. With a quick calculation he gave the adviser a counter offer, "Gringotts is willing to double the time allowance to six months by the Earth calendar, but no more."

The adviser found this agreeable, and Tackruk made a revision before pulling the parchment carrying the King of Hearts' seal from his pile. "Gringotts finds the general terms of the King of Hearts', Jack Heart, proposal agreeable with only minor amendments."

The King's mate finally deemed Tackruk worthy of her attention now and he sneered at her; enjoying the look of fear that passed through her as he did so. "The first being that Gringotts is willing to provide assistance with the Kingdom's economic crisis, providing that the King gives Gringotts sole rights to establish it's self as the kingdom's banking system, with the King of Hearts opening the first account as a show of good faith and an example for his people."

He watched the adviser turn to have a decision with the King's mate over the matter for a few seconds before the Potter proxy spoke up. "You shouldn't take it," he stated and Tackruk glared at the man. His presence would not be required in future meetings and bank business would not be pleasant for him if the Wonderlander went back on his word.

"And why should we take the advise of a former Tea Pusher?" the King's mate scornfully asked.

"For exactly that reason," Mr. Hatter continued as he pulled out parchment from his coat, "Neither of you know how to run a proper business obviously and I'd rather not see the Kingdom under the power of a single syndicate due to your incompetence." He jotted a note and passed it to the adviser. Tackruk was unable to read what was on the paper, but made sure the proxy felt the weight of his gaze and understood how closely he was treading to forfeiting their agreement.

The adviser nodded, pleased with what he read, and passed it to the King's mate before addressing Tackruk. "We would be willing to allow you the initial rights to establish Gringotts as the bank of the realm, along with the creation of a royal account within it. But, the King reserves the right to approve no less than two, and no more than four, separate bank systems by the native Wonderland people."

Tackruk considered the counter. It would allow Gringotts to most likely become the primary banking establishment, as intended, while providing comfort to the native population and the possibility of future competition. He considered Mr. Hatter once more. Especially if there were more of his like to work against. "Agreed," he sneered at the adviser who paled and looked back at Mr. Hatter. "Provided," Tackruk continued, "that the King continue to hold the majority of his funds within a Gringotts vault."

The adviser quickly agreed to the amendment and Tackruk motion for his quill to make the necessary changes. "Second," Tackruk continued, "Gringotts requires the entirety of the Loompa province be turned over to the Goblin Nation as a separate kingdom within Wonderland as it's own by right, as seen by of our ancestor's victory over the original Halflings that had inhabited it."

"Agreed," the King's mate spoke up, "So long as the Goblin Nation understands that to war with any province under the Card Kingdom's control, and thusly the King of Hearts' power, would be to declare open war upon the entire Kingdom."

The woman's statement was an obvious one and Tackruk let his displeasure show in his scowl as he agreed to the concession.

"Lastly, Gringotts adds that upon the establishment of the Goblin Nation in Wonderland, that the King of Hearts employ a goblin of our choosing to act as the ambassador for its people." Tackruk stared at the adviser as he continued, "The goblin is to be treated as an honorary citizen of the Card Kingdoms, and the Goblin Nation will allow the King of Hearts one month Wonderland time to place any objections with our appointment before the placing is permanent."

"And what of an ambassador for the Card Kingdoms in the Goblin Nation then?" the adviser questioned.

Tackruk grinned fully at the man, "The Goblin Nation would be willing to allow an ambassador for the King, provided that the Goblin Nation is given the same allowances as previously stated for the last amendment."

The woman nodded, "That would be agreeable."

"Are there any more concerns or counter offers to be heard?" Tackruk posed before allowing the required minute for any objection. When none came he snapped his fingers as his quill reproduced the treaty in triplicate with the agreed upon corrections, snapping his fingers to disperse it to all three parties present once it finished.

"Let it be known that upon signing this treaty that the Kingdom of Hearts and its ruler, Jack Heart, along with the Goblin Nation, agree to the declarations put forth before them on this day, the thirtieth of March 2001. Should any of the agreements placed upon it be broken, the treaty will be considered void and all deals established after which shall become forfeit. As witnessed by one David Tarrant Hatter and signed by the future Queen of Hearts, Duchess Eleanor Grace Griffin, the King of Hearts' advisor, Mathew Silsbury, and Tackruk the menacing, proxy of Gringotts guild leader Ragnok." Those present signed with the blood quills Tackruk provided with a thick golden rope forming a triangle between them that, upon signing, flashed brightly before dissolving into the air.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well. I for one am glad to finally get this chapter written. This marks, not only my longest chapter to date, but the end of my starting plot points and the start of the summer months arc that I've, ya know, only been wanting to write since I started this sequel. Of course, many of you readers will know that this also marks the longest it's ever taken me to post a chapter. All I can really say is I'm terribly sorry, and I hope it was worth the wait. Feel free to berate me in a review if you so wish. ;P Even with my last dry spell, your thoughts keep me writing and plotting and I always appreciate every one of them. ^_^ For those who don't know, the children's song Hatter is referring to is Ring Around the Rosie.

My tentative plan is to get chapter 7 put to paper and published before the new year, but that depends on how efficiently I finish making the presents I need to by Christmas. I will post an update on my profile if it looks like I won't be able to make my self-imposed deadline. Thanks as always to those who have stuck with me from the beginning and welcome to my new readers! ^_^ I hope you continue to enjoy what I put out. (p.s.- CK, the person you're hoping to see will be introduced in 2, 3 chapters tops ;))

Posted 12/8/2010


	7. Complex problems have simple

_Chapter 7:_ _Complex problems have simple, easy to understand, wrong answers_

After the initial excitement of finding out about the magical world on Earth, along with Hatter and Harry's history, things began to filter into a routine for the two cousins over the next month…mostly.

With Carol now in on the basics of Wonderland and magic, Robert began spending more time with his former wife when she wasn't working. Taking her to visit Mulberry Street and having long talks about how things had really been for him the past fifteen years. Now that she knew his amnesia story was only partly true, she felt a bit vindicated in her stance that he and Alice had been hiding something from her. Thankfully, the truth only seemed to bring the couple closer together and after two weeks of adjustments and dates, Carol invited Robert to move in.

Alice was only too excited about this breakthrough in her parents relationship with this suggestion, and had quickly offered her room at Carol's apartment (so they could still have some space if they needed it) and insisted that she could move her belongings at her mother's into Hatter and Harry's apartment. Hatter had been all for the move as well. While he'd developed a comfortable dynamic with Alice's dad, and Robert in turn seemed only too pleased with their relationship, he couldn't help but feel that not having his lover's parent around quite so often might help eliminate those few awkward moments they ran into. Like that time when Alice had spent the night and Robert had woken to find his daughter sporting messed up hair and, dressed only in one of Hatter's shirts, had given him a bleary-eyed smile as she passed him with a large mug of coffee on her way back to Hatter's bed.

The tense conversation that followed Alice's departure that morning had been one of the more unpleasant ones Hatter had endured in his almost thirty years of life.

Harry had only shrugged unconcernedly at Alice's suggestion and commented on how she practically lived there anyway before delving back into a book on magical charms that he'd been reading. Hatter had attempted to use his cousin's excellent point as the key influence to convince Alice to just move in fully and sell her little apartment, but she refused to do so. When he'd tried to press how illogical it was to keep the place (his flat was closer to not only her work, but the subway as well, which also meant a shorter trip to her parent's place) she'd gotten into a debate with him that only increased in volume and harshness as it drew on, before giving one last biting comment and storming out of the apartment.

Harry had yet to witness how intense their arguing could get, having not been with Hatter when he'd taken Alice to meet Dodo, and had dropped his book in surprise as he watched them go at it; flinching when Alice slammed the door as she left. Robert was in a similar state of shock at seeing his daughter's aggressive behavior; leaving an unsurprised Carol to take up the mantle and pull Hatter into the kitchen to talk with him about Alice's abandonment issues, and the fierce independent streak she'd developed in their wake.

"You two have something that I've only been able to hope she might have one day," Carol confessed as she'd calmly passed Hatter a cup of tea, "And, if I'm being honest, you weren't exactly what I pictured as the ideal boyfriend either."

"Cheers," Hatter had scoffed with a scowl at his cup before he downed his tea in one gulp.

Carol sighed then and placed her hand over one of his so he'd look up at her. "You may not be what I imagined for her," she'd insisted, "But that doesn't mean you're not a good match. You challenge her David, and she needs that in her life. Too often I've seen her with guys that, if they didn't remind her of her father, were too sweet and complying and just let her do as she pleased with no fuss."

She'd smiled and given his hand a squeeze then, "But you, you push her buttons and tease her, and you won't back down when you think she's wrong…and she needs that in her life." Carol smirked then for the first time that Hatter had seen as she pulled back to take a sip of her own tea, "The problem is, you've pushed too far this time without knowing it. Alice needs her space right now. And I don't just mean from this argument. She's falling for you David, and fast. Faster then anyone else she's been with and…it scares her I think. She needs that little apartment right now so that she can keep her independence. One day she won't need it, but what you need to ask yourself, is how badly you need for her not to have it."

So Hatter took a moment and did just that. In doing so he found he was a bit caught off guard by how fast Alice had moved into his life. They'd only been together for just inside three months and courting for less then half that time. Not since he'd taken on Harry all those years back had he desired to bring someone into his life on a permanent basis so quickly. Taking Carol's advice to heart, Hatter didn't talk to Alice for almost two days while they both sorted out their priorities. It was the first time he'd voluntarily gone without contact since coming to live on this side of the Looking Glass.

Hatter mainly spent the time doing things with Harry as the two hadn't found many opportunities to just spend one on one time with each other like used to when they'd lived in the Tea Shop. He'd been surprised to find that Harry had taken the initiative to set up a place for the tea plants they brought from his old shop up on the roof of their building. A glass house for growing plants had apparently fallen into disrepair and Harry decided to claim it for their own use; even getting Robert to purchase a lock for him so that no one else could use it. Seeing the tea plants had reminded Hatter on what he'd originally planned to do with them before things had gotten all mixed up, and the two cousins then spent the next day researching what they would need to get his idea off the ground with a surprising amount of success. Thanks largely in part to the books they'd picked up from Nook and Crannies on Mulberry Street.

When they did meet up with everyone again at Carol's house for dinner on Sunday, Alice had pulled Hatter aside before dinner to sit down and talk about things. Harry had been optimistic at how things were proceeding since he, Carol, and Robert couldn't hear any yelling from the kitchen but as the silence dragged on for well over an hour, Carol began to worry that maybe she'd messed things up with the advice she'd given to the young couple and went to go see how things were.

She walked back into the living room not seconds after she'd left looking equal parts embarrassed and shocked, saying that the pair might need a few more minutes after all. Dinner started late as a consequence, but having Alice and Hatter smiling and happy again made it worth it for all those involved. Harry of course wasn't above teasing them about their behavior and had helped diffuse the initial awkwardness when the couple came back into the room and confessed they'd resolved the issue after only ten minutes or so.

They had agreed that Alice should keep her apartment, even if she didn't stay there often. Hatter really only understood her desire to do so on a few levels, but knew better then to press the issue right now and Alice assured Hatter then when the day came that she felt she no longer needed the place, he would be the first to know. The promise had ended up being sealed with more than just a simple kiss was all.

So it came to be that Alice (mostly) moved in with Hatter and Harry, while Robert moved in with Carol. Harry adjusted to the change in dynamic by making sure to give Hatter gruff whenever he felt Alice was talking over all his time, while Alice slowly began to instill herself into a sort of mothering position with Harry. A concept that Harry continued to wrestle with when Alice began to take over parts of his life that only Hatter had monitored before, including things like requiring him to brush his teeth regularly and assisting with his education in the afternoons before supper. Though he wouldn't admit liking the attention to anyone, Hatter had caught Harry blushing or smiling secretly on occasion when Alice gave him praise for something or another he'd done. The only subject of conflict to come up between to the trio after Robert moved out was the topic of magic.

As soon as things had been settled with the bank after they'd gotten their wands, Harry had taken every waking opportunity to practice this new type of magic. While it initially involving reading through the basic course books they'd purchased, Harry had quickly become bored with the dry instructional text and began to skip ahead to just the important parts that told him how to do the spells.

The morning Hatter woke up to three inches of water on the floor and the landlord demanding to come in and check for burst pipes marked the end of Harry's unsupervised use of magic however, and he'd been forced to haggle with his younger cousin into practicing only in the mornings with him while Alice had class. Even going so far as to take control over Harry's wand at night to make sure the lad didn't 'forget' their agreement and practice on his own. Having never actively used magic before as he didn't count punching things into dust or running quickly in the same skill set as his cousin, Hatter was honestly intrigued by the idea of using magic in such a casual fashion and considered himself to have gotten the better of the deal by far…at first.

With the introduction book open to the first section, Hatter had attempted to duplicate Harry's color changing ability with the indicated phrase and wand movement for the aptly named Color Switch spell, but to no avail. Harry had quickly mastered the ability, being familiar with his own similar version for years, and was doing it silently and repeatedly by the time he noticed Hatter's pillow remained the same shade of violet it had always been. The pair attempted to figure out the solution all morning, with Harry continuing to read up on the subject into the afternoon and evening without luck. By the third day, Hatter was ready to throw his hat in (both literally and figuratively) were it not for his attempt at a new spell in his desperation to get anything to work for him at that point.

"There," Hatter proclaimed with a gesture as he flipped forward a few pages, "That's the one you did in the tunnel on accident yeah?"

Harry looked over the instructions and nodded, "Yeah, Lumos, the light spell. I'd read about it the day before we got our wands so I had it on me mind. Haven't tried it yet again…but are you sure you wanna-"

"Yup," Hatter decreed with a twirl of his wand, "If you made a mini sun on accident, surely I can make a torchlight's worth?" He practiced the gestured required for a minute with Harry until they both felt they had it right before taking a deep breath. Harry nodded, turned off the lights and closed the curtains before giving him the go ahead signal as Hatter focused all his intent on making it light (a technique Harry had suggested with the color spell that his younger cousin swore had caused the pillow to lighten a bit when Hatter tried it).

With his right arm positioned in front of him as he gave a slight downward flick, Hatter loudly stated, "Lumos." Nothing happened for a heartbeat and then, quite suddenly, a tiny light began to flicker and then grow at the tip of his wand. Excited by a show of some success, Hatter grinned and redoubled his efforts by focusing on making a light as bright as Harry had once made it, while his young cousin let out a cheer at the sign of his achievement. Hatter quickly regretted that decision however when the little pin prick quickly burst to life with a white light so intense that it hurt and he had to shield his eyes; dropping his wand in the process.

Harry managed to throw a pillow on the lit wand while Hatter looked up the instructions for how to shut off the light. A turned page and few short minutes of blinding light later had Hatter extinguishing the brightness with a simple 'nox'.

"This is good," Harry smiled cheerfully at his cousin, "Least we know you're not pants at everything then yeah?" He laughed as he ducked the pillow directed at his head his smarmy remark had generated before moving out of reach and prompting Hatter to try something else.

Unfortunately, the Lumos spell was not the breakthrough the pair had hoped for as Hatter continued to have trouble with almost half the spells they attempted, and neither of them could figure out why. Still, the ready use of magic was a novel enough concept for Hatter that he still enjoyed using anything he could learn even a month into the cousins' self teaching. Alice was of course more than happy to point out how not all of the spells were very practical when given a demonstration, and had learned to enter the magical duo's flat with caution after her morning classes, least she get hit with a stray spell or object, as a consequence of living in 'Mini-Wonderland'. Being only human of course meant she'd occasionally forget to do so, which was precisely how Alice found herself being attacked by a wave of pillows and cushions one late April afternoon.

Alice made a muffled 'oof' noise as a violet missile collided with her face and knocked her cell phone out of her hand. Before she even had a moment to find her attacker, a shouted 'duck!' came from across the room and it was only thanks to Alice's increased speed that she managed to move out of the way before a large dark green seat cushion impacted with the door and slammed it shut. Frustrated by this random assault, Alice opened her mouth to tell the mischievous cousins off when she heard something that sounded like her mother coming from under the large couch cushion at her feet.

"Hey mom," she huffed into the receiver after retrieving the phone.

"Alice is everything all right? It sounded like you got into some sort of fight," her mother asked with concern.

"No, no, I'm fine. Just have a pair of kids to tell off is all. I'll call you back in a few," Alice replied before hitting the end button and pocketing the cell. Fixing her best angry/disappointment glare on her face, Alice looked up at the smiling innocent faces across the room.

"Alice!" Hatter beamed and she fixed her glare on him, "You're back early today yeah?"

"I thought you both agreed _not_ to use the front door as target practice any more," she frowned at the pair and crossed her arms, "Seeing as how _I_ almost got hit with a lamp last time?"

"Harry can be very persuasive when he wants," Hatter nodded sagely as he traveled the short distance to stand in front of Alice.

"Don't even try and pin this on me," Harry objected before pointing his wand at Hatter, "You're the one with all the aiming problems."

"That may be but, remind me little Potter, who was it that suggested the front door would be the largest and safest spot to practice on?" Hatter asked innocently with a smile.

Harry gaped at his cousin before frowning and dropping his wand arm, "That's cheating."

"There you have it. A confession," Hatter proclaimed to Alice with a smile before giving a small bow, "I place my head upon the court."

Alice struggled to keep her stern glare going, but a look from Hatter as he stood up easily gave away that it wasn't working. "Nice try," she dryly commented, "But you're the adult here, hard as that is to believe sometimes, so _you_ should know better."

"Speaking of adult things," Hatter sidestepped her remark as he led her into the kitchen, "I got a missive back from that Addams bloke finally. Came by owl of all things just after breakfast." He set the kettle on for tea as he continued, "Says he's found loads of stuff and would very much like me to come by this afternoon."

"Really?" Alice questioned. Her minor ire from the assault upon entering getting shelved for the moment, "Did you already send a response?"

"Yup," Hatter announced with a popped 'p' as he readied three tea cups, "What with you taking Harry for lessons today, I figured it'd give myself something to do as well."

Alice nodded with his reasoning, though he couldn't see it with his back turned, as she took off her purple coat and got comfortable. Looking back into the living room, she could see Harry floating the scattered pillows back to their appropriate homes and gave him a wide smile when he made his way to sit beside her seconds later. "Thank you Harry," she added as he sat down, giving her a smile in return. A look to her right revealed Hatter was busy messing with the tea for some reason so she faced Harry once more. "So you excited about your first class today?" she questioned.

"Definitely!" Harry beamed up at her, "Will I need to change before we leave?"

Alice shrugged, "You can if you want, but we have a pair of small locker rooms you can use at the dojo just for that reason. People don't usually want to go home in sweaty clothing, but the first few days won't be too intense if you'd like to change here instead."

Harry propped his head in his hands on the kitchen island as he considered his options so Alice looked back over at Hatter. The kettle was billowing steam (Harry had accidentally silenced it and they'd yet to find a way to change it back) and Hatter had just picked it up to dispense the hot water into his prepared cups. As he did so, Alice noticed a small tag hanging off the edges of each cup and frowned. It wasn't like Hatter to use store bought brands, he claimed they lacked some sort of depth, but perhaps he'd finally run out of his supply from Wonderland?

There was a mischievous twitch in his grin as he passed the cups around, but continued acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary. A glance at Harry revealed nothing either and Alice was immediately suspicious. "So," Hatter spoke up as he sat with them, "When does class end today? Want to make sure I leave with enough time to see young Harry fall flat on his face a few times at least."

"The only one who'll be flat on their face is you," Harry retorted as he pressed the tea bag to the side of his cup with his honey spoon, "just as soon as Alice teaches me that rolly-flippy-thingy she does."

Alice only listened to their banter with half an ear as she inspected her tea, copying Harry's move of draining the bag before setting it on her saucer. It looked like normal tea. She laid the tag facing her so she could read the print there. It simply read 'Excite-mint' in a swirled indigo font over a grass green background and Alice furrowed her brow as she inhaled the smell before blowing on the liquid to cool it. She couldn't remember any brand by that name, but the scent was refreshing so she took a small sip. It wasn't like any commercial tea she'd ever tasted; a strong peppermint flavor with a subtle fruity undertone she couldn't place, and Alice immediately took another drink.

Looking over her cup, she could see Hatter giving her short glances as he drank his own. Confused and not wanting to guess what he was so worried about, Alice set down her cup and looked at him expectantly.

"What d'ya think?" he posed calmly and she could see Harry listening for her response as well.

"It's good," she shrugged, "Though I have no idea why you're so edgy about me liking the tea. I've had store bought tea before so it's not like I think less of you for buying it." She took a longer dredge of her drink now that it had cooled and let the flavors roll across her palette before swallowing, "Trust you to find the best stuff though. What's the brand?"

That mischievous smirk of his twitched on the corner of his mouth before he finished his cup, and moved to ready another, "It's called Curiosity." He set the box down in front of her so she could inspect it. The design was simple and the name was printed 'Curious-I-Tea' with the flavor 'Excite' in smaller letters below it. Out of habit she turned it around and read the description on the back, pausing as she looked at the top hat logo on the bottom with the name 'Mad Hatters Inc.' next to it, and quite suddenly, she understood.

"You made this?" Alice asked excitedly and Hatter sat back down next to her with a self satisfied grin. "Wow, I can't believe, I mean, where did you get the idea to do something like this?" she continued.

"Back when we were packing up the shop in Wonderland, I knew I'd have to do something to support myself in your world. The problem was, what skills did I have that could be of use?" Hatter posed as he leaned back in his chair, "I knew how to be a peddler, a pusher, a seller and swindler but talking with your Dad led me to understand that the rulers here don't take kindly to dealings of that sort in the public. So I had to go back to the chalk board as it were and design a new business for myself, and that's when it hit me," he proclaimed with a flourish at his tea cup, "Tea. I'd done it the better half of me life, with the how-tos and whys being self taught, and figured the bit of silver Harry managed to save from when the shop was sacked-"

"He's promised me half the company if it does well as thanks," Harry grinned; inordinately pleased with himself.

"-would help get things started," Hatter finished. "Would have gotten it in the clouds sooner had we not found out about the whole family history and Goblin business and gotten distracted."

Alice nodded before finishing off the last of her tea, "Yeah I can see how that might have thrown you for a loop, but how did you get this put together in such a short time? I mean, you must've had mounds of paperwork to go through and the packaging is very professional. Does that mean you already have buyers?" As the idea grew on her, Alice wondered how she didn't see this coming as it fit him so well. Even with the inheritance he'd received from the Potter line, she should have known he wouldn't be one to lie around and do nothing.

"In the first part," Hatter began, "Magic, and then the goblins for all the nasty paper business. Carpenter helped out with some of it though as he'd set up his own company before. This box was part of the tester set I put together with the help of that bloke his daughter's courting. Smart guy, Abby's a lucky girl." He gestured to Harry, "What's the lad's name again?"

"Connor," Harry smiled, "He's brilliant! Been helping us by designing the spells for making the tea bags and such."

"Wait," Alice broke in, "You two put these together yourself?"

"Course. After breakfast, we go up the roof, harvest the plants, mix the blends and package everything with spell work."

"That's my job," Harry supplied, "Hatter can only get the bagging spell to work for him, so I do all the assembly."

Alice examined the box and its contents again, "That must take forever. You can't have many ready for resale yet right?"

Hatter shrugged noncommittally, "Somethin' like two or three hundred boxes right now I believe. Been storin' 'em in the mushroom trunk the plants came over in so not sure on the count. Have to wait till we can do another harvest before we can make more."

While he didn't seem that impressed by his numbers, Alice was amazed at how much magic let them accomplish in such a short time…but something was clawing at her about all of this. "So, you've been working on this for…?" she prompted.

"About two weeks now," Hatter answered.

"And I'm only just finding out about it now because…?" she quirked an eyebrow at him and his self satisfied grin faltered slightly.

"Well, ya see, I've only just found a seller, and it's not like I've only kept it from you," he attempted to save himself, "Your parents don't know either. And I was sort of hoping it'd be a nice surprise all around yeah? Somethin' to celebrate at dinner on Sunday." While he provided a decent reason, Alice felt there was something else there he wasn't telling her. Harry, as he tended to do, supplied that reason seconds later.

"He was just worried you'd think less of him if it failed," Harry quipped.

Hatter frowned and brandished an empty teacup at his cousin, "Ya know, it's moments like these that make me regret telling you to speak back to me. Made you a right pain in the arse it has."

Alice chuckled and Harry grinned as he toasted his own cup at his older cousin, "Cheers!"

* * *

Explaining the new tea business to Alice bled into lunch and Harry excused himself right after to water the plants. Hatter and Alice had disappeared from the kitchen by the time he'd come back downstairs so he busied himself by feeding and then playing with Bob. He was working on teaching the little rocking horse fly how to answer yes and no question to some small degree of success finally. After seeing how responsive the birds that delivered the mail were for magicals, Harry had decided his pet had no less potential. A month into training and Bob could now correctly identify colors, the people he saw most often, and general shapes.

Just after three, Alice told Harry it was time to leave for class and he quickly changed into his judo outfit that Alice called a 'gi', securing it with his white belt and placing his off white trilby hat on as the best match. When Alice saw his change of attire, she smiled and then paused to look at his hat. "Harry, I'm afraid you'll have to leave your hat here. We talked about this before," she reminded him.

"It doesn't seem very practical though," Harry insisted, "I've always got my hat and it me. Shouldn't I learn in the most realistic settings?"

She fixed him a look and set her arms on her hips, "If that were true I'd be tossing you into the nearest bar fight. No hats or accessories of any kind. That's the dojo's rules Harry and there's nothing I can do about it. You can wear it there, but you'll have to take it off before class."

Sighing and knowing better than to press for more right now, Harry waved goodbye to Hatter and followed along side Alice the entire trip. Since they were in public he couldn't talk about how his magic learning was going, and they instead filled the time talking about safer topics like the Curious-I-Tea and Harry's studies.

They arrived at the dojo at a quarter till four and Harry waved a greeting to Ms. Nicole at the desk as he passed her on the way into the downstairs left side dojo. Alice showed him where he could set their water bottles and his hat before going off to change herself; leaving him to watch as one of the other instructors picked up some large flat things off the floor while he waited. When Alice walked back in, some kids were following her and Harry frowned when he noticed they were in uniform as well. It hadn't occurred to him before then that when Alice signed him up for a class it would be with a bunch of kids. It immediately made him consider dropping the class, but he knew Alice would be disappointed if he did and he was too interested in learning proper fighting skills to quit so quickly.

He kept his distance though by staying on the far right side and took note of each kid as they entered. From his best guess, they all looked about his age. Some clearly knew each other outside of this class and had entered together, while others introduced themselves as the stood about near the room's entrance. None of them came over to the far side of the room near Harry and he preferred it that way as he wasn't really interested in getting to know them. If nothing else, their presence just confirmed that there wouldn't be anything to distract him from learning everything he could from Alice during his classes. Harry ran a self conscious hand through his flyway hair and glanced longingly down at his trilby. He felt off without his hat.

At four exactly, Alice moved to the middle of the room and clapped her hands once loudly to get the kids' attention. "Alright everyone, welcome to beginners judo," she projected loudly as the din of chatter faded, "I'm Alice, and you may call me either Sensei Alice, or just Sensei. Please form two lines, one on each side of the dojo, so we can get started with some warm up stretches." She tossed a questioning glance Harry's way when she noticed he'd stayed where she left him, but didn't say anything and turned her gaze back towards the front to watch the entire room.

* * *

"Good afternoon Mr. Hatter," Margaret tittered as Hatter entered the now correctly labeled offices of Addams and Addams. "Mr. Addams is expecting you," she gestured to the back office.

"Brilliant," Hatter smiled and crossed the short distance to the closed door. The less time he had to spend in this dreary building, the better. Not bothering to knock since he was expected, Hatter let himself in right away, "So what's this news you've got for me th-"

A dagger flew at the door he'd just entered and slammed it shut just as Hatter had fully stepped into the room. Confused and immediately on edge, he looked where the weapon must have come from only to find Mr. Addams now brandishing a thin sword at him and a touch of madness in his eyes.

"Knave!" the man bellowed as he dashed towards Hatter and swiped his thin sword at his head; Hatter only just managing to duck and roll out of the way.

"The bloody hell!" Hatter exclaimed as he continued to dodge his lawyers' attacks, quickly making his way to the opposite side of the room and retrieving a thin sword of his own just in time to parry another attack.

"You sir, are a deceiver!" Mr. Addams exclaimed as he tried to push Hatter into a corner, "A harbinger of lies and fallacies!" Hatter pressed the older man back so he could have room to maneuver. Why hadn't Margaret come to help him yet? Surely she could hear the scuffle! Trying to makes sense of the randomness here, Hatter continued to defend himself as the exchange of attacks grew more intense.

"I-" _clash_ "have-" _whoosh_ "no-" _skeerch_ "idea-" _clang_ "what-" _grunt_ "you're on-" _cling_ "about!"

Hatter switched the sword to his right had and used the extra power there to knock the sword out of Mr. Addams' hand with his next swipe and followed it up with a quick kick to the abdomen; sending the man stumbling off balance until he finally fell upon his desk. Hatter stood at the ready to charge the older man again if need be, sending a flicker at the door to see if the secretary had come in yet, when Mr. Addams did something that completely threw him off balance again.

He laughed.

Loudly and triumphantly before righting himself and sending a bright grin at Hatter. "Good show old boy!" he declared with a clap of his hands; giving them a wave right after causing both Hatter's sword and the discarded one to fly off into the stand against the far wall. "To business!" Mr. Addams grinned as he moved to sit in his chair and gestured at the ones across from him.

The door opened then as Margaret came in bearing a full tea tray and a smile. "I'm sure you're both thirsty now," she gave as her only explanation before leaving once more. Hatter could do nothing but stand there in shock for those few seconds as he tried to get a bearing on what was happening.

He also had a new found appreciation for what Alice must have gone through when she'd first come to Wonderland.

Still feeling the adrenaline from his impromptu fight, Hatter moved to stand behind the chair but not sit in it yet. "Sorry, have I missed something here?" he questioned.

"How do you take your tea?" Mr. Addams inquired as he set about making a cup, "Cream, lemon?"

"Depends on the tea," Hatter automatically responded before giving his head a shake, "What was all that about though?"

"What was what?" Mr. Addams asked as he pushed the tray towards Hatter, "Do make yourself to a cup. Margaret makes a deadly brew. You wouldn't want to miss it." The bit of madness Hatter saw in the smile Mr. Addams gave him after that statement did nothing to help Hatter's comfort level at the moment at all.

"The whole fighting bit!" Hatter objected, "Greeting me with a dagger in my face and trying to chop me head off."

Mr. Addams grinned, "Just a bit of sport. I like to start serious business with a good fight! You can tell a lot about a man from how he fences and you sir, are a fighter." There was a gleam in his eye at this revelation that Hatter still wasn't sure he felt comfortable with, but mostly certain that he wouldn't be killed by sword anytime soon (he couldn't say the same for tea), he slowly eased himself into the chair before him.

"Of course I'd expect no less from the case you've given me to work with," Mr. Addams continued as he pulled out a much larger stack then the folder Hatter had left him and placed it on his desk. "Such a tale of vengeance, and murder, all wrapped in a government conspiracy and political upheaval! It makes the blood boil and cry out for justice!" That grin that edged on the side of madness never left Mr. Addams' face as he spoke on about what Hatter could only assume was the issue he'd first came here with. It was starting to sound like the mess his gut had told him it might be when he'd first looked into it.

"And to have it involve England's Boy who lived as well!" Mr. Addams exclaimed, "Such a case! That and your fighting skill make this venture more than worthy of an Addams at your side."

"Sorry," Hater frowned, the name seemingly familiar for some reason, "Boy who lived? What's this lad got to do with anything?"

"You mean you don't know?" Mr. Addams asked with a sober sound of awe, "It's your ward. The young Harry Potter himself. The celebrated defeater of Voldemort! Surely you must know?"

Hatter felt his gut clench as he ran through what he remembered from the files. Yes, there'd been a mention of someone called Voldemort in them. He'd been the one who'd…

His jaw tightened with determination as dread swept through him at the connection of a few facts on that little bit of information alone. Hatter looked Mr. Addams dead on and demanded, "Tell me everything."

* * *

When Hatter didn't show up for the end of Harry's first class, Alice had been concerned but not terribly surprised that the meeting had run late. Her mother had often told her lawyers operate on their own time and Alice reassured Harry that that was likely the case here as well. She could read Harry well enough by now to see he was a bit hurt by Hatter's no show, but understood how it probably wasn't his fault. The walk back to the apartment was quiet as a result and though Alice tried to keep up some glimmer of a conversation with the pre-teen, the last hour and a half with him had given her a few things to think upon. The heart of which she planned to pull Hatter aside and talk to him about when he got home. Something that took longer than even she had guessed.

It was just after seven and Alice and Harry were dishing up dinner when they both heard the door open and shut. Alice smiled at Harry and made up another plate for Hatter before they both moved toward the dinning table. She opened her mouth to try and make a joke about how long he'd been, but it died on her lips the moment she saw him. Before their relationship had even started, Alice had seen a variety of Hatter's expressions. But even when he'd been tortured and bleeding from his ears he had a sort of positive determination about everything he did; ready with a smile or encouraging words when she needed them most.

In all the time she'd known him, she'd never seen him look this tired and…defeated as he stared at the stack of papers in his arms. Clearly something very serious had happened this afternoon. Looking over at Harry lowered her concern a bit though as he didn't seem nearly as taken back by Hatter's appearance as she was, though he did look worried.

As Alice set down both hers and Hatter's plates, the noise broke him out of his trance and he set the papers down on the coffee table before walking over to join them with a smile, "Evening. Sorry I missed the end of your lesson today Little Potter." He gave Harry an affectionate head ruffle before giving Alice a kiss on the cheek and sitting down. "Things took a bit longer than I thought with the lawyer obviously," he wryly commented, "This, smells brilliant though."

"It's some sort of meat bread," Harry informed him, poking it suspiciously with his fork.

"Meatloaf," Alice corrected before having a bite.

He frowned at her, "Yeah, that's what I said." Harry then faced Hatter, "So what was so important that you missed out on seeing my incredible new judo skills?"

Hatter took his time eating his bite of food before replying. "Well, it's quite a story and…it all started the night your parents died." Harry set down his fork stoically and Hatter waved his hand dismissively, "Ya know, I think its best we save this till after dinner yeah? You eat up."

"No," Harry stated quite seriously, "I wanna know. Go on." Hatter looked down at his plate and took a deep breath before meeting Harry's gaze. After a few seconds had passed he nodded and set his own fork back down.

What followed was one of the most fantastical, unbelievable, and anger inducing stories of Alice's life. Quite a tall order when you've been involved with the political revolution of an entire kingdom.

Hatter talked for the better part of a half hour. He informed them about what the lawyer had found out about the night Harry became an orphan, the limited details about his godfather's seemingly unlawful imprisonment, and a few details about the man who'd killed the Potters and the magical and political war England had experienced for over a decade. Voldemort's agenda reminded her of the Queen of Hearts and Hitler combined.

Neither Hatter nor Alice objected when Harry excused himself after Hatter finished his tale. Once she heard the door to his room close though, Alice finally spoke up. "You planning to go talk to him again?" Hatter had told her about Harry's emotional upset when he first found out about his parent's murder, and she figured the two might need a little one on one time with all the new information that had come to light.

"In a mo'," Hatter confirmed, "but first, I have to tell you the rest of the story."

Alice frowned. It wasn't like Hatter to keep information from Harry. "There's more?" she asked and Hatter nodded.

"It's about Harry. See, when that nutter came to kill his parents, he apparently meant to kill Harry as well," Hatter face darkened and his eyes flickered to Harry's room and then back at her. "The thing is," he leaned in, "something happened. Some unexplained magical thingy, and the bloke died instead. Harry is to the magical people of England as the Alice of Legend is to Wonderland. They call him the boy who lived cause he survived when no one else did."

As he went on, she didn't wonder why Hatter was keeping this from Harry any longer and she had no idea how he was going to explain to an eleven year old that he was a beacon of hope to an entire generation of people. Though she did feel she could relate to how overwhelming it could feel. Maybe she'd be able to help Hatter out this time when he went to talk with Harry. The thought of being able to help Harry warmed her heart and she expressed her thoughts to Hatter.

He gave a sigh of relief and nodded, "That'd be brilliant Alice love. That kettle of onions aside though, Gomez says we'll have to make a trip to England for a meeting with the magical government there about the mess with Harry's godfather. There are quite a lot of contradictions mixed up concerning him but Gomez has an interesting plan to clear it all up. Should be good for a laugh." Something about that last remark made a real smile start to grow on his face for the first time that night.

"Ya know he attacked me when I showed up today?" he idly remarked.

Alice blinked, "He did what?"

"Attacked me," Hatter restated, "Soon as I stepped in. Had to grab a sword to defend me person and when I'd bested him, he went on nice as you please. As if I'd never happened at all!"

She smirked, "Somehow I'm not surprised to learn you that out of all the lawyers you could have met, you, hire the crazy one." Hatter shared a chuckle with her before fidgeting with his jacket sleeves.

"So," he drew out, "I was thinking we could check out that school while we're over in this England place as well." Hatter looked up at her through hooded eyes to gauge her reaction, "Ya know, the one that's already to be paid for?"

Whatever fear he apparently had about mentioning the place passed Alice by as instead it only reminded her of what she wanted to talk to Hatter about after her Judo class had ended. Shelving it for a moment, Alice addressed the issue he brought up first. "I thought you didn't want Harry going to a school?"

Hatter frowned, "I said nothing of the sort. Just don't trust your government run institutions is all."

Alice shrugged, "Same difference, but I'm all for it. I told you before that I think he needs to get a real education." Hatter opened his mouth to object and Alice cut him off, "Not that we're doing a bad job right now, but Harry will exhaust our knowledge one day and he can't learn everything from books."

She took a sip of her drink before continuing, "This topic leads nicely into something I wanted to talk to you about anyway. When you lived in Wonderland, did Harry have any friends?"

"Course he did," Hatter shot her a perplexed look, "You met Reggie of course, but he got on well with lots of the Bargainers. Brought out the less twitchy side of Dormie too."

"I don't mean adults," Alice stressed, "I mean friends his own age. You know, other kids?"

Hatter winced, "Not as much no. But, the thing you have to understand Alice is…children in Tugley city weren't like Harry. Most of the ones he met at the shop were either there with family for a tea party, or trying to find ways to swindle some from me stock. The first group he met were of the later variety and once they found out he was a relative of mine…" Hatter shrugged, "well, it was a hard lesson learned but Harry's always been a fast learner."

Alice nodded to show she understood, "That explains quite a lot of today actually. Harry wouldn't even talk to any of the other kids unless he had to."

"Probably saw it as a similar situation, what with you teaching the class and all," Hatter pointed out, "I'd wager he figured if he got to friendly with them, they'd try to use him. Just like they did in Wonderland."

That made a little too much sense actually and only increased Alice's worry. "Hatter, that's not good for a kid his age and if you're seriously looking to send him off to this school where he'll be surrounded by his peers day after day…we need to do something now to help him trust that he can socialize with other kids his age. I'll do what I can in my class, but we or you should definitely talk to him about this as well." Alice paused as another idea came to her, "We might want to look into a summer class too, maybe something to do with magic since he like it so much. It could help if we have no connection to it as well so he won't automatically think they're trying to use him for something."

Hatter didn't look pleased and Alice could only guess that it was either because they wouldn't be learning magic together anymore, or that Harry would be taken away from his tutelage earlier than he thought. Probably a bit of both.

"Lets start at the beginning first yeah?" Hatter remarked. "We go to England, sort out this mess dealing with this Sirius Black bloke, see if that school is any sort of decent, and then, we'll work on Harry's social skills yeah?"

It wasn't the ideal solution to Alice as she felt they should start helping Harry right away if they could, kids needed friends their own age, but she didn't want to press the issue right now after everything they'd discovered today. She could wait until their trip to England before bringing it up again unless he seemed worse off then she originally thought.

* * *

Author's Comments: Ah! I'm so excited about some of the scenes coming up that I get to share. ^_^ The second meeting with Gomez was one of them as well. With the trip overseas coming up in the next chapter, you'll finally get to see more of the original HP cast. Not that anyone has complained about the few OCs I've made, but I'm sure some of you are looking forward to familiar faces showing up. ^_^

Thanks as always to everyone who reviewed! I love the feed back I get (even if it's just grammar/spelling typos),sometimes it causes me to realize 'Opps, I haven't planned anything for that situation. Time to fill a hole! *pulls out dry wall mudd*' I'm also sneaking up on the 100 review mark again which is exciting. I never expected as mainly people to enjoy my series here as much as they do and I see that a nice milestone. Just like with Tumbling, if person 100 has a special request they'd like to make ( be it side piece, omake, or cameo) I'd be happy to work something in as a thank you. :D

Speaking of feedback, I've also put up a poll on my author page that I'd appreciate if people took a few seconds to give me their opinion on. While it won't be the key deciding factor, it does help me make decisions. Hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all next chapter! ^_^

Posted: January 23, 2011


	8. Do what thou wilt is the whole

_Chapter 8:_ _Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law, but then there is always chaos to consider…_

"So let me see if I have this right ways 'round," Harry calmly stated. "The magical people of England think I'm their Alice cause of something that happened to me as a babe that I don't remember - at all. Then, they shove me off with the worst relatives I have nice as you please without any helpful advice about magic either since it's some silly secret on this side of the glass." He frowned at the pile of paperwork Hatter had given him to read through, "I'm thinking they might have gotten a bit of madness along with their magic as well yeah? I mean, at least _you_ did something Alice!"

Alice smirked at his comment, "I only helped out just a little bit near the end, but that didn't stop anyone from acting like I was a legend reborn as soon as they heard my name."

Hatter and Harry gave her the same confused look and responded in sync, "But you are."

She crossed her arms and let out an irritated huff, "You know…I was gonna help deflect some of the more Charlie like enthusiasts when the cat's out of the bag, but now I think you'll just have to fend for yourself."

"It's not the Charlie types I'm worried about," Hatter confessed as he shared a pointed look with Alice.

"Yeah I liked Charlie," Harry declared with a smile.

Alice grinned, "Would you still like him if he was bowing at you and talking about how the planets had aligned and that it was destiny for you to meet?"

Harry frowned, "Okay…that might be a bit awkward yeah." After a moment of silence he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Still, I see what you mean about all this smoke making the business about Black even more dodgy," Harry proclaimed with a wave, "When do we leave to sort this out then?"

"Mr. Addams set up our inquiry with the magical law enforcement over in England for this coming Saturday," Hatter supplied, "Which leaves us about three days to sort everything out and get ready for the trip. Give us a bit o' time to look into a few other things while we're there as well."

Alice sighed, "It's too bad that this trip won't be like visiting Wonderland where we could be there and back before dinner. I'm not looking forward to finding other instructors to cover my classes for a week on such short notice."

Harry looked back and forth between the pair with raised eyebrows, "What else do we need to look into that might take so long?"

"Well firstly, the stuff with this Black bloke might take a bit," Hatter pointed out as he sat forward in his chair, "'S not like the Queen's rule yeah? They like to actually check their facts out on this side of the glass, or at least they're supposed to anyway." Harry nodded with a smile and Hatter continued, "Be nice to actually see all those bits and baubles the bank has tucked away for us as well while we're visiting...and then there's that school to consider."

Hatter watched as Harry filtered through confusion, remembrance, and then curiosity at this announcement before speaking up. "The one that's to be paid for then?" he inquired and both Alice and Hatter nodded.

"Doesn't hurt to see if we can visit it and if you'd want to attend," Alice added with an encouraging smile, "I know you and Hatter are doing your best on your own, but it might be nice to learn with people who know what they're doing."

Harry grinned knowingly, "You just don't want to worry about gettin' hit by random spells when you get back to the flat."

"I'm mainly interested in what's best for your education," Alice replied seriously before returning Harry's smile with one of her own, "But some of the side benefits had occurred to me as well."

Hatter shared a smile with them but it didn't reach his eyes. Harry seemed to be taking to the idea of learning spells the proper way and the former conman didn't like the conflicted feelings he had about the subject so he did what he did best and swept them aside to deal with later. "Me and Alice will pen them a letter about visiting and send it out today, but other then that…we could just do some explorin'. See the sites and what not. It'd certainly help out with our story if we knew about the country we're supposed to be form," Hatter added and both Alice and Harry appeared excited about this prospect. After dancing across several possible options for a few minutes, Alice began to get frustrated and fetched a pad and pencil, declaring they needed a set schedule, before writing out a list of some fashion.

After two hours of debating, off topic conversations and lunch, she set the heavily edited plan down with a satisfied smile. Hatter and Harry moved in to give it a once over and nodded along as they read. It would need tweaking as things became confirmed or moved about, but his brilliant Alice had left flexible spots that could be shuffled around when needed to compensate for this. Noting the time, Alice quickly rushed out to make her one o'clock sessions and Harry grabbed his cousin's gaze when she closed the door.

"Think we should let Carol and Robert know about all this?" Harry gestured to the paper covered table and Hatter paused to think it over for a moment. They would of course let Alice's parents know the three of them would be away for a week, but Hatter wasn't particularly keen on inviting them along for the ride. The older couple had enough on their mind as it was and part of Hatter didn't feel any of this was their business anyway. He'd be just as pleased to give them information on an as needed basis when things were of a private or uncertain nature. It hadn't served him in wrong in the past…well…except for some of those times when he'd first met Alice – but this was decidedly different! No possibility of life threatening danger what so ever this time.

Making up his mind, Hatter gave Harry a short nod, "Some bits, but no reason to brag on about it all yeah? Rather not drag this out into some sort of party. We'll just give a sum up when we get back I figure." Harry nodded in understanding as Hatter knew he would. He then watched his cousin for a few minutes as the lad absently skimmed the documents on the table, but not really looking at any of them. It was the idleness of Harry's actions that still gave him away more then anything else.

"Sure you're handling this alright then?" Hatter casually inquired and was happy to see Harry didn't jerk in surprise at being interrupted from his thoughts.

Instead, he leaned back in his chair and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I suppose, I mean, 's not like I'm denying the possibility like Alice did," Harry flickered a smile at his cousin then, "I saw how much good that did her yeah?"

Hatter smiled at that reminder, "True enough, but what's the snag?"

Harry shrugged, "No snag so much as just not being very keen on the idea really." Hatter made an agreeing noise while giving a nod at his younger cousin's continued nonchalance, but didn't press for more as he started to gather up the papers on the table. To his credit Harry didn't start squirming until a full thirty seconds later.

"Okay," Harry huffed as he slumped forward on the table, "You win. The snag is that…well, if I'm like their version of Alice…" Stopping, he frowned and looked up at Hatter, "I just don't like the idea of being some kids' bed time story. Well, not for any of the stuff on this side anyway. Can only hope they got creative about it I suppose. Think they know what I look like too? I mean, our Alice isn't blond like the first one. Be nice if I could do some dancing around it for as long as I can."

"I doubt they do," Hatter shook his head, "I mean, ya haven't been bothered anytime we've been to Mulberry Street but it could just be that only this lot over in England knows just what you look like, so we'll have to be on watch at any magical spots we stop at."

Harry seemed slightly assured by that before giving Hatter a questioning look, "Well, we can't avoid it for the formal bits but what about when we visit that school? If I am so important, won't they be on the look out for me? I am, I did up and vanish not three years back by their accounts." Hatter had silently been working on his plans for dealing with that exact situation in the back of his mind that morning and while he would need Alice's help to write the note to the school just so, he felt confident that three of them could pull it off easily.

"Don't worry Little Potter. We'll be doing what we do best," Hatter smiled and leaned back in his chair, "Charm and misdirection."

* * *

With a gasp of breath and a stumble forward, Alice only absently noticed that she'd dropped the large purple hula-hoop that she'd been gripping onto seconds before as if her life depended on it, partly because it had.

"Never again," Alice stated between gulps of much needed air, "I will _never_ travel long distances by use of magic _ever again_."

"Prefer it if I nicked us a flamingo for the future then?" Hatter challenged with no lack of amusement, looking much more composed then she felt, as he offered her a steadying embrace.

She felt no remorse for the glare she sent his way from making such a comment; especially when it had the opposite effect of making him grin at her.

The three days they'd had to get ready for the trip had gone by entirely too fast for Alice and it was now Friday afternoon (evening really with the five hour time change she supposed) and their little group had just landed from their first ever long-distance portkey trip. She had originally been thrilled that morning when Hatter had simply slipped her suitcase into his trunk with all of their supplies before a twist of a handle made it the size of a doll house toy. She'd been excited even! Never having left the North American continent, this would be her first trip to not only a foreign nation, but a foreign magical culture as well. Not that anything had toppled her trip to Wonderland yet in that regard, but Harry had this knack of awaking the child like wonder in her for all things magical and his poorly contained excitement this week had successfully rubbed off on Alice as the days wore on.

Her mood had started to shift downward when they'd met Mr. Addams at his home for their departure and she learned just how…strange the lawyer Hatter had hired was. They held a round of introductions including Harry dealing with his first encounter of hero praise from Mr. Addams (which she thought he handle much better than she had and had been very, well, Hatter-like), along with meeting his older daughter, Wednesday Addams, who would be assisting him with this case due to her extensive experience with murder situations. The way Mr. Addams had phrased her experience did nothing to ease Alice's growing unease.

With introductions out of the way, Mr. Addams had given a rapid fire run down of how things were likely to proceed tomorrow before producing a large purple hula-hoop with a flourish. Hatter had told her they would be traveling by portkey earlier that morning (_'S easy Alice. You just grab hold and in an instant, you're where you need to be! Could've used one back in Wonderland - but the landings a bit tricky so watch yourself there yeah?_), but actually experiencing it left his description with much to be desired.

She scoffed. Tricky didn't really cover the feeling of being dragged around by your navel while feeling like your arm was about to detach from it's socket after being pulled on for so long. Still, Alice reflected as she finally got a grip of herself, there was something to say for reducing an eleven hour plan flight down to just five minutes.

Looking around, Alice could tell she'd been the last to recover as the Addams pair had moved on to speak with a man by the only door in the bland looking room, but Hatter and Harry had waited on her before following. She reassured them with a smile before taking hold of Harry's hand as they prepared for the first test on Hatter's plan. After Gomez and Wednesday moved past the guard with the door being shut behind them, he waved their small group over and Hatter presented the man with their identification when prompted.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hatter and son is it then?" the guard asked as he looked through their altered passports; waving his wand over the documents before nodding once and passing them back to Hatter.

"Hatter family, that's us," Hatter grinned and pulled out his and Harry's wands from an inner jacket pocket for the guard to inspect as well.

The guard's eyes lit up at the sound of Hatter's accent and he smiled, "Oh, from 'round these parts are ya? What's your reason for stay then? Just poppin' in to visit the loved ones or are you back from holiday?"

"Oh, just by for a bit of this and that," Hatter answered with a noncommittal shrug as the guard ran his wand down each of the ones he was inspecting, "The lad will be startin' lessons this fall and we figured on giving Hogwarts a chance to plead their case 'fore we sign him up back at Salem."

The guard guffawed, "Too right you will! No better school than Hogwarts in all of Europe by my reckoning. Places in the colonies can't touch Beauxbatons, let alone ol' Hogwarts! Gryffindor house of 74' I am."

"Knew you would be," Hatter grinned back happily, "Gryffindor of 86' myself you know."

"No foolin'?" the guard grinned back brightly before letting out a laugh, "Should've guessed that myself. Only a lion would go off and marry some Yank eh?" The two exchanged what looked like a friendly chuckle as Alice did her best to keep her tongue in check as the urge to defend her country grew with each dismissing comment the guard made. Thankfully the wands vibrated, releasing little slips of paper, and stopped the guard from going on.

"Hmm. Only been in use for about a month?" the guard asked with a slight frown.

Hatter nodded, "Had some custom made by an Ollivander branch in the States as a treat, but figured the lad should get his first from the source though yeah?"

The guard smiled then and vanished the paper and passed the wands back, "Only proper since he'll end up at Hogwarts for sure." He opened the door behind him and waved them through, giving Hatter a manly pat on the back and smiling down at Harry as they walked past, "No other place like Hogwarts lad. You give ol' McGonagall a big hello from Tyler Smith when you get there lad as you won't be half lion with your Da being one as well eh?"

Harry gave a smile and a wave with his free hand, "Will do sir!"

The trio moved down the plain looking hall before them and Alice glanced behind her at the sound of the door closing before leaning over toward Hatter, "Did you actually know anything about what he saying back there?"

Hatter smiled at her, "Think I didn't do my research first?"

Alice smirked back, "More like I know how good of a bull-shitter you are when you want to be." Hatter's smiled grew and Alice looked ahead where she could see just make out the door that should lead to their hotel at the end of the long hall, "It was just nice to see it work in our favor for once was all." She could just imagine the mock wounded look Hatter was no doubt sending at the back of her head now but the tremors coming from Harry's hand from quiet laughter assured her that he at least found it funny too.

He quickly caught back up to her side and huffed at Alice, "Suppose you had a better idea then?"

"Not necessarily," she smiled, "I was just wondering what type of compliment you deserved was all."

"I think he gets too many as it is," Harry chirped up, "'S not good for his enormous ego you know. Best to just assume the worst yeah?"

Hatter scoffed but Alice could hear the amusement in his reply, "I'll let you find a way to lie your way into the country looking to worship the ground you walk on next time then shall I?" He paused before continuing, "'Course that would be a brilliant way to see if you've really learned anything Little Potter; never got to test you against such a challenge back on the other side."

Having reached the end of the hall, Alice had to drop her inquiry into just how much of a conman he'd taught Harry to be as they opened the door to see their lawyers waiting for them with a pair of old style brass keys. She took the one offered to them as Mr. Addams reminded them to head off to bed early to fight the time change before he departed with Wednesday in tow.

Alice took a moment to look at the inn that they would be staying at and was mildly surprised to see it reminded her of a medieval tavern, with furniture that looked old enough and worn down in some spots to possibly be that old. There were candles on the chandelier instead of light bulbs and a large open hearth on the far side of the room with a roaring fire that flashed green when Alice looked at it before an older woman confidently strode out from it as if it was the most common thing in the word for her to do so. This led to a look at the other patrons along with a second surprise, but a growing smile. The magical community here was mostly decked out in fantasy style robes. Some had Victorian influence while others looked just as medieval as the inn; pointed hats and all.

Alice let out a small laugh and she smiled at Hatter, "It would be England that was holding onto the fairytale style instead of New York wouldn't it? What did Mr. Addams say this place was called again?"

"The Leaky Cauldron," Harry answered first with a smile before going back to looking around the room himself, "'S brilliant innit?"

"It's certainly something else," Hatter gave the pair a small smile before gesturing to the staircase on their left that their lawyers had ascended so they could all get settled in for the night.

* * *

With the knowledge that there was different take on magic on this side of the ocean, Hatter was pleased to see Harry put up very little resistance when Mr. Addams suggested that only Hatter should accompany him to the meeting with the head of England's Magical Law Enforcement. They'd been able to flit past the customs process the night before with a bit of magically forged documents (something that had been a bit of a shock to Alice when he'd suggested the idea), but they'd have to stick to the truth when it came to government matters. Well…the truth as far as they knew it on this side of the Looking Glass anyhow.

After some parting well wishes to Harry and Alice along with a reminder to stick to their story wile they explored the magical shopping district here, Hatter moved towards the fireplace on the other side of the dinning hall of the inn to experience his second form of magical transport on Earth. The process of fireplace travel, or the Floo Network as they called it, seemed a fair more dodgy compared to portkey use. Toss some powder, step into the fire, call out his destination and he'd be whisked away while hopefully not burning himself somewhere in between. He watched Gomez go first and had to admit it was impressive when the man was gone in a flash after yelling out 'Ministry of Magic'. Wednesday was to go next but turned to give him another one of her blank expressions.

"Try not to breathe in or you'll choke on the ashes," she said before grabbing a handful of the white powder, "It won't help if you died now."

Taken aback by the comment Hatter fumbled for a response, "Right, thanks for the tip. Would prefer not to die myself really."

She raised one eyebrow at him, "Everyone dies - eventually," and tossed her powder in the fire before being whisked off.

Hatter let out a shiver. He'd take Gomez's manic energy over Wednesday's morbid remarks any day thanks very much.

Taking a handful of the powder, Hatter let out a breath before following in his lawyers' footsteps and repeating the travel process. The instant rushing sensation he felt as he was transported reminded him of the few times he'd fallen off of ledges in Tugley City except a fair bit warmer and with no real sense of direction. He braced himself as he felt the pressure lessening and with the small amount of grace he processed, treated the landing as he would if from falling off a ledge and managed to roll out of the new fireplace. Hatter coughed a few times as he dusted his jacket and hat off before turning around to find Gomez beaming at him and Wednesday looking amused for the first time.

"Good show old man!" Gomez congratulated him with a clap on the back accompanied by a puff of ash, "Now we venture into the belly of the beast."

Mr. Addams led Hatter past a large golden fountain, depicting some sort of event from the looks of it, as the easily moved past the small flow of government workers that came and went on the weekends. They stopped to have their wands inspected, similar to how the guard had last night, (though this guard had shot him a confused look when the reading for his wand core displayed 'kneezle'-scratched out- '_unknown_' and looked semi-transparent) before finally allowing them on the lift. Content to just observe and take everything in, Hatter watched as the few workers who came and went between floors cast them confused looks after giving him a once over, but only gave a polite nod before mostly ignoring him. It didn't take long for Hatter to pick up on the fact that they seemed to be questioning his state of attire as the only one present not wearing one of those billowing robes, as both Gomez and Wednesday had donned open front black ones that morning.

Six dings and three minutes later, the cool voice above them announced, "_Level two. Department of Magical Law Enforcement,"_ and Hatter followed his lawyers off the lift. They went down the front hall and passed several doors before turning right down another corridor. As they continued, Hatter took the chance to look about the place. He passed a large room with no door on the left where he could see some older man with a gnarled cane lecturing a room full of people, something that looked like a break lounge where a few men were laughing around a table, a wall of notices and warnings that had moving pictures across from another large room with sectioned off spaces, and then finally coming to a stop in front of door labeled '**Ms. Amelia Bones – Department Head of Magical Law Enforcement**'.

Mr. Addams knocked on the door thrice and only waited a moment until a woman with short gray hair appeared from behind it. "Addams and Addams was it?" the women briskly stated more then questioned as she gave all three of them a rapid look over, "A little early but that's fine. Come in and shut the door behind you if you please."

Being the last one in, Hatter made sure to close the door as asked as he took in the room. It was a spacious office (though not nearly so much as he'd had in his Tea Shop of course), decorated with numerous books along the walls, a large desk with three chairs placed before it, and several possibly magical objects placed about the room. Taking the last seat, Hatter noticed the supposed Ms. Bones had been watching him intensely before addressing Mr. Addams.

"Now, you mentioned during our floo call that you wished to address a case regarding the actions of a British citizen that your client has claim on," she laced her fingers on the desk before her and leaned forward, "One Mr. Sirius Black. Correct?"

"Indeed," Wednesday smiled lightly as she retrieved a stack of documents (some very familiar looking) from her briefcase, "As you can see by the documentation provided by our client, Mr. Hatter. We have reason to believe that you are unjustly holding Mr. Black for a crime lacking in anything beyond superficial evidence that would not have held up in a proper trail." Wednesday raised a suspicious eyebrow as she passed over the paperwork, "Something that your governments records indicate never even happened in the first place."

Amelia Bones took the paper work with a frown and placed a monocle over her right eye before scanning through the documents. Her frown increased over the minute of silence that stretched on as she read until finally looking back up at the Addams for a moment before turning her gaze at Hatter. "How can you possibly have access to some of these records?" she questioned with no lack of intensity and curiosity, "I would have known about this case earlier if you'd been snooping about in our files so the real question is – How did you get access to the Potter family files?"

"Simple matter really when you're the legal representative for the Potter account at Gringotts," Hatter smiled and Ms. Bones' eyes hardened.

"Harry Potter is the only living magical Potter left," she stated, "His relatives would not be allowed to have access to those accounts, much less these files."

Hatter could hear the acquisition in her voice so he produced his wand with a flourish briefly before putting it back away. "Just as magical as you," he assured her, "Possibly more so by my reckoning really, but that's beside the point yeah?"

"Indeed," she frowned with a touch of confusion before setting the documents on her desk, "If you would be candid with me. Who exactly are you Mr. Hatter?"

Knowing he wouldn't be able to hold this information if things were to go smoothly, Hatter gave her one of his charming grins, "Name's David Hatter and I am Charlus Potter's grandson on me Mum's side." He could see the amazement, wonder, and skepticism that his statement caused in Ms. Bones' eyes before she became calculating as she looked at the documents once more.

"We seek justice madam," Gomez announced passionately, "A man, one of your own in fact, has likely been wronged and we would see this justice carried out in your courts!"

"You seek a scandal," the director bit out as she glanced up, "The likes of which I haven't seen since the war." She frowned and regarded Hatter's group before letting out a sigh, "I must admit, your evidence is compelling and with a proper representative for both the prosecution and defense, there's no way the Wizengamot will be able to refuse bringing it to trial. Not with Dumbledore at its head at any rate."

Ms. Bones raised an eyebrow at them, "Assuming you intend to offer the other half of consent for the use of Veritaserum of course."

"We are prepared for _every_ scenario," Wednesday assured the director with one of her emotionless looks, "Are _you_ prepared for the consequences your inaction has caused?"

Ms. Bones looked truly angry for the first time since Hatter had walked into her office as she glared at Wednesday, "It wasn't my actions that brought us here today Ms. Addams, but I will be the one doing everything in my power to see justice done as swiftly as possible. So I would appreciate it if you'd place the blame where it belongs." She let out a breath and looked forlornly at Hatter, "Personally, I hope for your sake that you're right."

Over the course of the next hour, Mrs. Bones informed Hatter and the Addams on how things were likely to proceed for their case. They then worked on filling out the forms for an appeal for the trial. The Wizengamot Administration Offices were closed on the weekends but Ms. Bones assured them that she would personally insure a trail date to be set this week; throwing in a sarcastic comment about how they'd already met the pre-established waiting time several times over.

It was just past lunch by the time they were free to leave with Ms. Bones' assurances that she would send them an owl Monday evening with the trial date, along with any other updates she might have for them. Hatter had a growing admiration for the woman by the time he left the government building, and not just for her fair handedness of the situation placed before her. Ever since he'd mentioned his relation to the Potter family he could see the unspoken questions lingering in her eyes. She'd wanted to know if he had contact with Harry. Either she'd gathered that he wouldn't tell her one way or another if he did, or she was too much of a professional to ask questions about a not so relative topic. Based off the looks Ms. Bones kept shooting at Wednesday, he had a feeling it was more of the later than the former. Lawyers apparently held quite a bit of sway if that was true and he'd never been happier to have hired them; especially when Wednesday kept her father from going off on tangents about 'villainy' and 'justice'.

Hatter listened to Harry and Alice ramble on that night over dinner about their day of shopping and exploration in Diagon Alley. It was conveniently located right next to the inn they were staying at and instead of one long street; it had a main street with smaller alleys branching off from it. Alice described it as feeling very reminiscent of Victorian era designs, although with added clutter and haphazard layouts. Harry thought it was brilliant (as if Hatter had any doubt he would) and that it had a chaos to it that reminded him of Wonderland. He did regret to inform Hatter that he didn't think the older cousin would be happy about the fashion here though with their long shapeless, albeit colorful, robes.

"The hats are horrible," Harry had sighed as he rested his head in his hands on the table, "I mean, sure they've got some with designs that shift around and that's brilliant, but they have some sort of fetish for pointed cones and wide brims this lot." He paused before continuing, "They got nothing on an Ambrose original."

Not wanting to bring the mood down, Hatter changed the subject to talking about their plans for exploring London the next day. Alice thankfully picked up on his idea and the two quickly distracted Harry from thinking about not seeing Reggie for who knew how long. It was a subject Hatter didn't like to think about often either as he often missed the eccentric old man as well.

Shaking off his melancholy, Hatter focused on the next task ahead of them that he'd been both curious about and dreading as Alice and Harry debated plans for Sunday; the trip to Hogwarts.

Could he let Harry go to a school so far away? Alice had mentioned it was a boarding school, which meant he would only see his cousin during breaks, and the former conman wasn't very keen on that. Oh, the alone time with Alice would be lovely, no doubt there, but the lad had become such a major part of his life that thinking about him not it made him feel empty. Much like he'd been when he was separated from Alice after they took down the Queen. Hatter was fairly sure the carefree bachelor he'd been would be balking at his dependence on this little family of his, but he wouldn't give them up without a reason.

He smiled absently at a joke Harry made to that he was only half listening too. One of the very few reasons he would allow the decision would be if it was what his cousin wanted.

* * *

"Wow," Harry breathed as he leaned out the carriage window.

"You said it," he heard Alice speak softly behind him as she looked over his head at the sight beyond; "For the first time since we got back from Wonderland, I feel like I've fallen into another world."

There was something in that statement that rang true for Harry as well and when he looked over at Hatter he could see his cousin was looking appreciatively at the castle that grew in size the closer they got…but not with the same look Harry felt should be there. 'Course, his cousin had been acting weird all day. He'd seemed withdrawn once they got off the train in Hogsmeade (a town Harry was _definitely_ keen on looking over if they had a mo') and then he'd been troubled by something he thought was pulling the carriage that neither Harry nor Alice could see. They could feel it when Hatter showed them where to touch so they knew he wasn't going mad, but apparently the horse like creature was not appealing to look at. If he hadn't seemed off when they'd disembarked the train, Harry might have just chalked it up to the strange creature (Hatter had been bothered by the goblins on first meeting as well after all) but no, something else was upsetting his cousin and Harry was going to talk to him about it later when they got the Leaky Cauldron. But for the moment…

He took a deep breath of air and let it out as a grin. Something here felt so familiar and like his first proper home that he could almost feel it like a tingle on the back of his neck. The castle that grew ever closer had spiraling blue turrets and gleamed in the midday sun. Harry spared a thought to wondering if the Checkerboard Kingdom would ever look this marvelous again as it was certainly older than the school. He hoped King Jack was helping Charlie to restore the ruins by now. A group of things flying off of the far side of the castle from them caught his eye and distracted him then. He made a mental note to ask their guide if they knew what creatures they might be.

When the carriage finally came to a halt in front of a massive pair of doors, Harry saw Alice give a shiver and rub her arms over her purple coat. "A little chilly, but I suppose that's Scotland weather for you," she remarked with a smile that Harry returned.

The carriage ambled off with out them as soon as they exited it and Harry saw a girl in black robes with a yellow patch came striding out the doors and down the front steps towards them. "Hullo!" she waved brightly, coming to a halt just before them all, "Hatter family right? I'm Head Girl Brooks. Professor McGonagall asked me to escort you to her office when you arrived."

"That's us," Hatter smiled at the teen, "David, Alice and the mini-Hatter on the end."

"Brilliant," she smiled happily back and leaned in to whisper, "Lunch is just finishing but if you'd like something first we could stop by the great hall, sneak you a sandwich or four."

Alice smiled, "We actually ate on the train, but thanks for the offer."

Brooks stood back up and shrugged, "Thought you might've." She turned and gestured for their group to follow, "Let's off then. Professor McGonagall won't like it if we dawdle and we've got a climb ahead of us."

Entering the front hall, Harry followed behind everyone so he could take everything in, but wasn't sure if he actually could. There were interesting bits to see everywhere! Paintings with people that moved like his photos but also spoke back to him, suits of armor that looked hollow but the one he'd banged on had given him a gentle kick back followed by a chuckle, and the hallways themselves were unlike anything he'd seen but had a feeling and a shape oh so familiar to some towers in Tugley City. The Head Girl was going on to Hatter and Alice about the history of Hogwarts as they walked and warned them not to stray during their tour later as the castle changed about sometimes and if you weren't used to it, you could get lost.

Hatter shot an inquiring look back at Harry at Brooks' comment that only caused him send a grin back that he was happy to see his cousin starting to build. "What type of changes?" Alice questioned and Brooks sent Alice her own curious look.

"Does that not happen at the Salem Institute? We haven't had exchange students since long before the war with you-know-who ended, but I thought Professor Binns said they had some similar goings on as well," she trailed off with a thoughtful look before shaking it away, "Anyway, Hogwarts doesn't have half a mind of its own now does it? Over a thousand years old by now so it was bound to pick up some quirks as best as most historians can gather. Staircases are the worst though. Changed directions mid climb on me more days then not when I was a firstie. Bit of a learning curve that, but at least the classrooms don't move like the Headmaster's office. Be a nightmare that would."

"Wait they move? What'd you mean they move? What if someone fell off?" Alice frowned.

Brooks laughed and waved off her concerns, "Not like they aren't warned by the Prefects. Firstie still have bouts of accidental magic when they start anyway. Worst I've seen is a broken arm or leg from a ten level fall, and Madam Pomfrey fixed them right up before dinner she did. No getting out of essays for minor injuries like that."

Alice looked shocked and glanced at Hatter and Harry to see their reactions, but Harry knew Hatter had survived a similar fall off a ledge in Tugley City when he was about Harry's age and Brooks was right, his magic had taken care of it. Hatter kissed the back of their joined hands and smiled reassuringly, "'S nothing to be worried about love, you know that yeah?"

It took Alice a moment before she nodded slowly in understanding at Hatter's reminder. They were playing off that magic was nothing new to them, and Alice had generally assimilated into that mind set, but some things still caught her off guard.

"Yes, you're right," Alice sighed and, "I just worry, you know that."

Hatter gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, "I know love."

The Head Girl finally came to a stop outside one of the many large unmarked doors and smiled at all of them, "Don't worry too much ma'am. Hogwarts is the best school around and your lil' one would be safe here. Like I said, just the stairs you really have to watch out for and we have the Prefects watching out for the fist year students just to be extra sure they learn their way." The girl smiled at them before turning to knock sharply on the door.

"Come in," a brisk voice replied from behind it and Brooks motioned them to follow her once more.

"I've brought the Hatters Professor," Brooks stated as Harry stepped around everyone so he could get a look around the office.

"Thank you Ms. Brooks," the stern looking woman behind the desk replied as she moved a stack of papers to the side of her desk. As she stood, a deep bell resonated through the castle and the older woman nodded at the Head Girl, "I'll see you at three then for class."

The girl smiled and gave them one last wave, which Harry returned, before closing the door behind her as she went off to her classes. Turning back to look at the woman, Harry saw she'd moved out from behind her desk to greet them. "Welcome to Hogwarts," she smiled pleasantly, "I am Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall and I am also the Transfiguration Mistress. It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you had a good trip out?" The teacher had an accent Harry didn't recognize that gave a sort of rumble a rise to her voice.

"Thank you for taking the time to see us on such short notice," Alice smiled and shook the older woman's hand.

"Didn't mean to be a bother," Hatter added with a smile and Harry saw something shift behind the Professor's eyes when she looked at his cousin and then down at him briefly, but it was quickly gone.

"No problem at all," McGonagall insisted and she shook Hatter's hand as well, "It's not often we get magical families who want to visit before considering admission, but you are not without precedent. I have several more families visiting over the month from all walks of life." She looked behind them as the sound of dozens of children could be heard rushing by and motioned for them to take a seat. "It would be prudent to wait for classes to being before we start a tour of the grounds," the Professor commented and pulled her wand out from her sleeve. With a quick series of flicks and twists, three cushioned chairs appeared before her desk and she gestured for them to be seated, "It is akin to a walking among a stampede during class changes, but this way we may discusses the curriculum options Hogwarts has to offer while we wait."

Harry was in awe of the newly appeared chairs and was inspecting his in earnest while Professor McGonagall had been talking. He'd never seen anything quite like the skill she'd just displayed. Abby and even Connor had shown him advanced transfiguration before, but this…this was _brilliant_! They just appeared from nothing! No switch, no catch; just a few wand movements and then suddenly, chairs. Still not sitting, he looked up at the Professor with a wide grin.

"That was absolutely brilliant," Harry praised her and she rewarded him with an amused smile from the other side of her desk.

"I'm glad you think so young Mr. Hatter," she remarked before giving pause and pulling an item out from her desk, "Why don't you see what you can make of this while I speak with your parents for a few minutes."

Harry moved to her desk and accepted the strange looking item with an excited smile before finally sitting down. It looked like a complicated series of locks at first glance and when he twisted one of the keys, it grew in length; while pulling on the other one caused the cylinder to twist and shift sections around. Eyes widening, Harry let out a gasp before biting his lip in concentration. Hatter had taught him all about cracking locks, and this was just another one to solve.

* * *

The fireplace flashed green in the Headmaster's office for a moment before a scarred appeared in the flames. "Albus!" the gravelly voice called, "Albus, are you there!"

Albus Dumbledore turned away from the door and moved to kneel in front of the fire. "Yes Alastor I'm here," he replied, "I was just about to meet with a visiting family though. May I floo you back?"

"I've got news you'll want to hear," the flaming head of Alastor Moody insisted, "I might have a lead on the Potter boy for you."

All thoughts of his impromptu meeting pushed aside, Dumbledore leaned towards the fire, "What is it? Have you found him?"

Alastor frowned, "I said that I've got a lead not that he was sitting in my office with biscuits and tea Albus. Anyway, when I came in for my lecture on battle strategies with the Auror Trainees, I overhead the Wizengamot Offices had their knickers in a bunch over something."

Dumbledore frowned now, "I haven't received anything from their offices yet. What has them so worked up?"

Alastor nodded once, "Possible that it's still being processed, but I imagine you'll want to visit and find out for yourself. See, when I asked around about the commotion, people were very tight lipped about it all but one blonde mentioned that the Potter Family representative was bringing a case to court; one that had been opened for almost ten years at that. Some huffy paper pusher kicked me out before I could more out of the witch but I came to floo you as soon as I could."

"Thank you Alastor," Dumbledore responded sincerely, "I'll be there within the hour."

Mind ablaze with hope and possibility for the first time in over two and a half years, the Headmaster of Hogwarts maneuvered his way through the halls with the ease of someone intimately familiar with its layout. Someone was claiming to represent the Potters and the chances were high that whoever it was knew Harry's whereabouts as well. The question was, who could it possibly be? Petunia Evans not only claimed, but truly believed she'd never met the child and there were no other living relatives who could claim priority over Harry himself on the accounts. The goblins would never allow it.

He would have to let Minerva know he would be out of the castle for the day, but she had been expecting him to greet their visitors anyway so it was simple matter to stop by her office on his way out of the castle. Then he could apperate once outside the grounds.

With a single knock on the door, Albus let himself in and saw a handsome looking couple turn to look at him upon entering. The son clearly favored the father in looks based off the similar hair styles they sported, but seemed to be engrossed with something in his lap. He smiled as he quickly realized Minerva had given the boy a Puzzle Box to entertain himself with. Based off their attire he could only assume it was one of the many muggleborn families who wished to inspect the place before sending their only child off to learn such a foreign concept. "I apologize for interrupting," Dumbledore declared with a pleasant smile.

"No need Headmaster," Minerva waved him off, "I was hoping you'd stop by before we toured the grounds."

"Then my timing is fortunate indeed," he smiled.

She gestured to the couple before her, "This is Alice and David Hatter. The hunched figure on the chair is their young son, Duckworth I believe?"

"Yup," Mr. Hatter answered with a pronounced 'p' sound, "Sorry he's bein' a bit rude at the mo'.

"A pleasure to meet you I'm sure, and that's quite alright. I take no offence by being ignored," Dumbledore smiled. "In fact, I sometimes wish it happened more often. You see, I am afraid I cannot stay long. A matter with the Wizengamot has been brought to my attention and I am needed at the Ministry right away," he informed Minerva, nodding to the family before him as well, "I apologize for not being a better host, but I am sure Professor McGonagall is handling your inquiries fabulously."

"Yes," the wife smiled gently, "She's handled everything we've tossed at her. It sounds like quite the school you've got here." Interesting. A partly American family then based off her accent.

Dumbledore hadn't seen a family from the States in sometime and took it as a sign of good things to come. "Hogwarts prides itself on being a premier institute of learning and we'd be pleased to add your son to our family here," he added, "I apologize for being unable to stay longer and getting to know your family, but Minerva will of course be more then happy to forward any additional inquires you have onto me. If your tour runs late, you are of course welcome to join us for the evening meal in the Great Hall."

"Thank you very much," Mrs. Hatter replied and her husband nodded in agreement. Dumbledore chuckled as their son didn't seem to notice anyone had even come in the room he was so engrossed in his puzzle. Ah…to be young once more.

"You are quiet welcome my dear," he bowed out and closed the door behind him.

Finished with the pleasantries, Albus Dumbledore was all business once more as he moved with speed uncommon for someone his age as he quickly navigated the cleared halls and out the front doors in a matter of minutes. Secure in his knowledge that his little stop did not hurt his goal of find out whom this mysterious Potter representative was, he apperated on the spot.

* * *

"I apologize for the Headmaster's abruptness," Minerva expressed once the door closed.

"Is he called away from the school often then?" Hatter questioned.

The others voices registered for him on some level as Harry furrowed his brow in concentration. Just one key left now. The others sat pillowed in his lap but this tiny one was being tricky and he knew he was getting close.

"Not terribly often," the Professor admitted, "In addition to being Headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore is also Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. During the school year he limits his appearance to both bodies unless absolutely needed."

"Must be some emergency then," Alice remarked idly.

It would be the tiny one wouldn't it? Harry pondered on. Tiny things were always causing problems. Door too small? Sorry, you'll need to shrink down a bit before you can get through, you couldn't just make it-. Harry paused. That was it. In that moment he knew what the solution was. Yes! It was so simple! How had he missed it! Gleeful he selected the largest key from his lap and pressed it against the small one. He slowly pushed on it and watched with baited breath as the lock grew to accommodate the entire key before pushing it out the other side.

"Yes!" Harry proclaimed with a shout of joy as he looked up at the Professor.

She seemed surprised at first for some reason, but it quickly melted into an approving smile. "Excellent job Mr. Hatter," she praised him and Harry looked over at Hatter and Alice who were smiling at him as well, though theirs were ones of amusement instead. "Based on how well you solved the puzzle box, I imagine you'll do quite at Hogwarts."

"Really?" Alice questioned and Professor McGonagall nodded as she accepted the pieces of the deconstructed puzzle from Harry; easily refitting them and resetting the device.

"This is a wizard's toy called the Puzzle Box," she began, "It is designed for children around your son's age to encourage skills that will help them when they begin to do spell work. Interconnecting pieces sometimes relate to each other, just a spell or a potion has components that work toward the end result, and solving it requires concentration, determination, and a good dose of creativity. All of these are the building blocks of proper spell work. Some of the movements even mimic various wrist actions required in our first year curriculum."

McGonagall placed the now fully reassembled puzzle back into her desk drawer before standing up, "I believe we covered most of your concerns and questions before the Headmaster visited. Are you ready to tour the grounds?"

Harry grinned, "Brilliant! I missed the boring parts then yeah?"

"Certainly lucked out on that," Hatter smiled until Alice gave him a gentle smack on the arm and an amused half glare. Harry was pleased to note his cousin didn't look as weighed down as he had just an hour or so ago.

"I'm sure he would have found it just as interesting," Alice insisted as she faced the Professor, "Mini-Hatter here loves to learn. It's one of the reasons we're looking to send him to school, and there is only so much we can do for him at home."

Professor McGonagall smiled, "I have no doubt that he does." She moved around her desk and gestured towards the door, "If you're ready then?"

This time, Harry was the first to follow behind their guide as he wanted to see and hear everything the Professor had to say about the school. She was very patient and informative as she took them around the school; pointing out famous landmarks, various classrooms as they passed them, the history behind some of the more important paintings and tapestries, and reminded them again about the stairwells. Even adding that some steps weren't there at all some days and that it was best to step lightly to avoid tripping. Harry looked excitedly at Hatter at the reference and his cousin looked thoughtful for a minute before nodding his head in silent permission.

When they reach the main stairwell down to continue into the dungeons, Harry spoke up before the Professor walked down them, "Excuse me Professor. Might I try something first before you head down?"

McGonagall looked curious but didn't object, "I don't see why not Mr. Hatter. What is it you wish to try?"

He grinned as he ran forward to tap a familiar looking spot on the base of each banister with his foot. "And they all-" right one "had a great-" left one "fall!" he jumped twice in place on the center of the top step of the stairs.

Nothing happened for a span and Harry felt his hopes falling before the stairs in front of him suddenly gave a shudder and tilted up to become a slide.

"Yes!" he yelled before hoping on the newly formed slide and zooming down the twenty foot ramp, laughing the whole way. He'd known they had to be the same! It was too much of a coincidence.

Harry had been turned wrong way 'round from his slide and when he stood to face the way he came, he saw that Hatter had followed him and was twisting the left banister to reset the stairs to their proper design. Alice and the Professor both looked shocked and confused, though McGonagall more so than Alice, and they both slowly walked down the stairs to join the two cousins.

"Never-in all my time- I," Professor McGonagall shook her head and regarded the pair closely, "How on Earth did you know they would do that?"

"Sorry," Hatter apologized with raise hands, "The stairs near my old shop used to behave similar to the ones here and Harry loved to slide down them when he was younger; made a bit of a game of it and everything." His cousin certainly didn't seem sorry though as he gave his first real smile of the day.

"Really?" Alice asked with raised eyebrows, "I'm suddenly much more grateful for the route you took me last time. I think I might have killed out if you'd pulled a stunt on me like that."

"Quite," Professor McGonagall frowned with a curious expression, "Should you attend Hogwarts Mr. Hatter I must ask that you refrain from changing the stairs in such a manner with students around. It could be potentially dangerous if done between classes-"

The deep sounding bell rang through the school once more.

"Like now," she sighed and looked back at Harry with a serious expression, "Your word Mr. Hatter?"

Replaying back what she'd said, Harry nodded once, "Alright, yeah." He moved to stand near Hatter as he could hear the sound of voices coming closer to them, "Sorry Professor, I didn't mean to cause any issues."

McGonagall gave him a small smile again, "It's quite alright Mr. Hatter. You didn't know before, but consider yourself forewarned."

The kids came rushing from all sides now and only a few gave curious glances at Harry's group, most of them not even noticing Professor McGonagall as they rushed off for their next class. He watched as kids of various heights, sizes and colors moved past him with at least some interest. They were wearing plain black robes that looked like they were slipped over their heads (a few of them even had on those pointed hats he disliked) and most of them also wore either shoulder bags, or carried a stack of books in front of them while they chatted with their friends, if he had to guess. He was about to turn away when he finally saw something interesting as a pair of people with red hair weaved their way though the crowd professionally and then dart around a corner at the bottom of the next set of stairs.

Professor McGonagall had apparently noticed them as well as she sighed before following after the pair. "If you'll pardon me a moment," she excused herself. Interested in what could be going on, Harry followed after her. She moved quickly though and he only just turned the corner in time to see the Professor tap her wand on a piece of tapestry, rendering it transparent, with the sought after pair behind it apparently none the wiser.

Harry felt Hatter and Alice come up behind him finally and they watched as the pair seemed to be setting something up there until Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly and the boys immediately froze. Walking forward again, Harry could just make out what they were saying.

"-can't have got here already. Transfiguration is half way across the castle. Plus, Clearwater said she has class with her Mondays after lunch."

"Bet she lied. Prefect material that she is? Can't take her word on things."

"I didn't just ask her! What'd ya think I am? Thick?"

"Seeing as I'm likely to have gotten the brains between the two of us I'd say it's likely yeah."

"Messers Weasley," Professor McGonagall spoke finally and both boys shut up, "Would you care to come out now and tell me what you were doing? Or would you prefer I use my imagination and assign punishment as appropriate?" The boys quickly came out from behind the tapestry, leaving behind whatever they were working on, and Harry could finally see that not only were they brothers, but twins.

"Professor!" the only on the left attempted to smile innocently, "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Wouldn't expect you to go roaming the halls between classes. Must be hard to find the time with the busy schedule that you keep," the right one continued solemnly.

"Much more bat like behavior that is," lefty nodded seriously.

McGonagall wasn't falling for their attempt at a distraction though and raised an eyebrow at the pair, "I find myself with an extra amount of time today actually. Now, if you would be so kind as to explain to me why you have-" she paused to look at the bundle of objects behind the still transparent tapestry, "-an assortment of prohibited items inside an attempt at a befuddlement draught."

"'S not an attempt," lefty objected while righty looked panicked suddenly.

"I assure you Mr. Weasley, while I am not a potions Mistress I am capable of recognizing the way a potion should look and that combination is highly-"

An explosion burst through the tapestry as the twins and Professor McGonagall suddenly found themselves thrown back and covered in a nasty smelling greenish brown goop.

It was all Harry could do to keep form laughing at the looks on their faces.

With an exaggerated sigh Professor McGonagall cleaned herself off with an impressive swish of her wand before sending a reproachful glare at the young set of twins on the floor. "Five points from Gryffindor and detention tonight after dinner," she issued before pointing behind them, "Hospital Wing Messers Weasley. Now if you please."

The twins trudged off slowly at first but quickly recovered from their failed experiment as Harry watched them goad each other into sliding on the floor and covering the each other with more of the goop; often resulting in one or both falling as they both laughed about it. He heard McGonagall give another sigh and turned to see her shaking her head, though with a hint of fondness in her eyes, "They are the cause of my new grey hairs. I'm sure of it" A clash the sounded suspiciously like someone falling into a suit of armor sounded from around the corner and Professor McGonagall sent them a pleading look, "If you don't mind waiting a moment? I just need to be sure they make to the Hospital Wing with both themselves and the castle in one piece."

"No problem," Harry heard Alice reply and he nodded, "We'll wait here for you."

McGonagall thank them and with another wave of her wand she vanished the evidence of the goop from the hallway, "I shouldn't be but a moment."

Once he was sure she was out of hearing range he gave into his giggles, "That was brilliant."

"At least I know the teachers are vigilant," Alice remarked and Harry could see her smiling when he turned around.

"Oh they were just havin' a bit of a laugh I'm sure," Hatter grinned at her.

"Didn't smell like a laugh to me," she refuted.

"Really?" Harry inquired with a smile, "Cause they certainly smelled pretty funny to me."

Alice groaned and Hatter laughed. "Oh Harry," she shook her head, "that was bad."

"Aren't I supposed to be Duckworth today?" Harry pointed out and she sighed.

"Right sorry. It's just unlike you two I don't have a lot of practice pretending to be someone I'm not," she admitted before turning serious and looking at Hatter, "Though speaking of things you shouldn't be doing, why did you let Har-_Duckworth_ do that thing to the stairs?"

Hatter threw his hands up in defense, "I didn't allow anything, McGonagall is the one who gave her permission."

Alice sent him a skeptical look and Hatter caved three seconds later. Harry had to admit, she was remarkably good at getting to him like that.

"Okay, so I _may_ have told him could try," Hatter admitted, "but it's not like I thought it would really work-"

"Oi!" Harry objected.

"-I mean sure, they've got magic on this side of the glass," his cousin continued on, "but I doubt even you would expect something from that world to be the same in this one yeah?"

A voice spoke up from behind them, "Oh I don't know why not."

Harry saw Alice and Hatter freeze out of the corner of his eye as he spun around to see who might have discovered them and let out a sigh of relief when he saw who it was.

"Hello Cheshire," Harry grinned as he walked forward and offered his hand to the large purple cat who just sauntered forward and allowed Harry to pet him once, "I didn't know you could travel through the Looking Glass too. How did you find us?"

"It's not hard with the connection we share," Cheshire admitted as he looked over Harry's shoulder at Hatter and Alice.

"Do you mean our wands?" Harry inquired but Cheshire only spared him a grin.

"Perhaps," he looked back at Alice, "Hello Alice, you seem to be doing rather well."

Alice looked uncomfortable, "Umm yeah thanks…and you?"

"Splendidly of course," he grinned widely before starting to wander back towards the once again visible tapestry, "It would only be natural for these things to happen though."

"And what would those things be?" Hatter asked with a forced calm.

Cheshire jumped and vanished. Reappearing on the window sill a second later laying on his back, "Why the stairs. It would be rather silly for one world to lay claim on something so unique as a set of stairs. It is a mad, mad world after all." He turned to grin at Harry now, "And there are so many things to share."

Harry wasn't sure what to make of that comment but Hatter asked first, "What's that supposed to mean then?"

"What it always means of course," the cat retorted as he righted himself and stared at each of them, "Will you? Won't you join the dance?" Cheshire vanished on a smile with that final remark and though Hatter called for the cat, he didn't reappear.

Alice frowned in thought before stopping Hatter's small bout of nervous pacing, "What did he mean by that? What does dancing have to do with anything?"

Hatter scoffed, "Cheshires, and that one in particular, never make any sense. Not unless you're half mad anyway." He scratched the back of his head, "I can only guess he means the song but I don't see how that applies here."

"What song?" she asked, "Something from Wonderland I guess?"

Hatter looked around the hall to make sure no one around, or back in the case of McGonagall, before answering. "It's a kids song about the Queen of Hearts coming into the power and the Resistance forming up," he frowned in thought then, "It was old by the time I learned it of course but I think it may have started as part of her propaganda. 'You can really have no notion how delightful it will be' 'Will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?' Surely you've heard it yeah? Harry likes to sing it sometimes."

Harry nodded in agreement as Alice continued to look thoughtful. "Dormie used to say it was about giving into the tea in the end, but Owl told me she thought it was about resisting them and not giving into their pull," Harry shrugged, "'Course most songs are flexible like in Wonderland. Tea Heads could talk themselves in circles about 'em all day long."

The three stood in silence as they contemplated the Cheshire's words for several minutes until a melodic chime broke it. Hatter jumped in surprise before reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out the mobile he'd gotten from the King. "Hullo?" he questioned and frowned as the person on the other side went on.

"Well I'm a bit busy at the mo' yeah. Not even in New York-" the person broke him off and Hatter looked confused.

"Probably another few hours yet," he paused and then frowned, "I don't care if it's King Jack himself. Tell them to wa-"

The caller cut him off and Hatter scowled as he waited to speak again. "Sure, brilliant, shall I bring some meat to calm the bandersnatch down when I arrive then?" the last bit came out sarcastically and Harry raised a pointed eyebrow when his cousin hit the end button before rubbing his hands over his face.

"Who was that?" Alice asked first and Hatter gave a sigh as he attempted to release his tension.

"That was the bloke who watches the Looking Glass point in England," he replied, "Sounds like we'll have to cut our tour short I'm afraid. He says they had someone sent through the Looking Glass and they are throwing a right fit demanding to see us and that we better 'get our sorry asses down to come collect him now'."

"Okay," Alice drawled out skeptically, "Do we get a name with bit of vague?"

Hatter shook his head, "Apparently he wouldn't give one. Keeps saying if those blokes were any proper person, they'd already know who he was."

* * *

Author's Notes: Look at that! Almost 12k words. New longest chapter! ...I really need to stop setting things so high. It doesn't help that most of the time I mark the end of my chapters by events and not length. Oh well, I doubt anyone will complain about a long chapter. Speaking of this chapter, it _would've_ been done weeks ago but I got hung up on trying to write the scene where they go the Addams family house. I just ended up scrapping the thing since I couldn't get it to work, but if you'd like to read what I was working on/comment on it, you can find it on my livejournal page. Link is on my profile.

Yay exciting things happening! ^_^ Chapter 9 has already been outlined and I hope no one minds me skipping over redundant information. If you don't know the basics of Harry Potter, why are you reading the fanfiction has always been my line of thought. That being said, I have changed some things about Hogwarts, hinted just slightly at it here (more so in the Moments of Lucidity pieces), but they will come out as they are encountered by our characters. Oh! Speaking of Moments of Lucidity, if you enjoy my series you should do yourself a favor and check those one shots out. Chapter 8 in the collection has events that are specifically mentioned in this chapter and while not vital to understanding things, it does flesh out the details. Harry and Alice in Diagon Alley will probably be one of those chapters if I get enough material to put it together.

Okay, done going on, I hate running notes long. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has reviewed and keeps doing so! You got me over 100 last chapter and it made me do a happy dance. ^_^ Terra, your request will be in the next chapter (no spoilers!), look for a message if I need info. Thanks again everyone and I hope you liked the chapter! ^_^ See you in 9!

Posted 3/7/2010


	9. People are SUPPOSED to be inconvenient

_Chapter 9:_ _People are SUPPOSED to be inconvenient. If you're too convenient, you aren't doing your job._

It came as no surprise to Alice that the Deputy Headmistress was the picture of calm understanding when, upon returning to them, Hatter gave her an altered version of the truth about how they were needed in London as soon as possible. Without the Headmaster around to set up an unscheduled non-emergency Floo connection back to London, Professor McGonagall instead arranged a return carriage back to Hogsmeade for them, along with instructions for how to summon this country's emergency magical transport system. They thanked her for her understanding and after promising to write if they had further questions, concerns, or would just like to set up another date to continue their tour; the trio climbed aboard the carriage and started the short trip back to the village, quickly disembarking when they arrived.

Alice watched skeptically as Hatter pulled his wand out of his inner jacket pocket, giving it an artful twirl before pointing out toward the worn lane in front of them that lead back into the village proper. She supposed it wasn't too different from hailing a taxi, but seeing him stand there with a piece of wood in his hand and pointing at nothing struck her as very comical and she didn't bother to hide her smile at the image. Before she got a chance to tease him about it though, a loud 'BANG' sounded from just to her left and the burst of air that came with it caused the three of them to stumble backwards off balance.

Looking up once she had proper footing again, Alice was torn between shock and laughter as she stared at the loudly colored, purple triple-decker bus that displayed the name 'Knight Bus' in bold letters on it's side that now stood before her. Harry apparently suffered no such issues though as he quickly bubbled with excited laughter and ran up to the door of the bus. Just before he reached it, the door folded in and a young woman with shoulder length brown hair in lavender robes stepped out to greet them.

"Good Afternoon," the girl smiled, "Sorry for the delay there, got caught in a moor for a mo' on our way. My name's Terra, and I'll be your conductor this afternoon. Where're we off to then?"

"Lookin' to get to Piccadilly Circus in London," Hatter smiled pleasantly back, "We'll take a lift to the Leaky Cauldron though if it needs to be some place magical."

She waved off his concern, "'S not a problem. We're covered in muggle repelling charms, they never notice a thing. That'll be four galleons for the lot then if you're ready."

"Brilliant," Hatter commented and started to rummage in his pockets for his money pouch, but Harry beat him to it.

He had quickly located some gold from his shopping trip with Alice yesterday and removed a sticky looking candy from them before passing the money to the girl with a sheepish smile, "Sorry,'s a bit tainted. That alright?"

The Knight Bus conductor chuckled as she took the money from Harry and the three of them followed her onto the bus. "Way I see it, all this money's tainted," she grinned widely at them now after depositing their money in a slotted box near the front, "'Taint yours, and it 'taint mine."

Alice groaned while Harry laughed, but she couldn't help smiling at the pun as they passed by the taller girl. She was brought up short when instead of the expected bus seats, she was greeted by the sight of several normal looking chairs in no discernable rows, and not a one of them matched. If either Harry or Hatter were bothered by this design they didn't show it as they quickly sat down on the left side, so Alice shrugged off her concerns and followed their example. Only two of the other seats on the bottom floor were occupied, but they paid the new arrivals no mind. Just as she sat down, Alice heard the bus assistant say something to the driver, and they were instantly in motion.

A scream tore from her lips as she was thrown back in her chair, distantly recognizing the sound of Hatter and Harry's yell of surprise as well. The bus jerked violently around as it drove at what felt like breakneck speed and it was all she could do to keep from being tossed out from her armchair. Not to mention the view outside of the windows was blurry and made her feel ill. Visions of her flights on pink flamingos replayed in her mind as velocity they traveled at easily felt much more like flying then driving.

She wasn't sure if she was thankful or not for those brief seconds of calm when the bus stopped for earlier passengers to disembark, as it gave her a chance to slow her heart rate down before requiring her to squeeze her eyes shut once they took off again. Between the portkey two days ago and this bus, Alice was prepared to swear off all means of magical transportation. They could splurge for the plane ride back home and some Dramamine dammit.

Hatter had enough presence to check on her during those moments of respite, offering to have them get off elsewhere if she liked, but she'd been determined to ride this till the end. Both he and Harry didn't seem to be suffering the same ill effects as she, and Hatter made sure to rub her back to help sooth her when he could.

While it had felt like an hour to her stressed body, it was only a few minutes after they boarded when Terra the conductor was calling their stop and Alice easily leapt out of her seat and off the bus. Not even bothering to return the girl's wishes for a pleasant day. A few deep breaths on stable ground quickly had her feeling put together again just in time to turn and see Harry and Hatter get off at a more sedate pace, and the Knight Bus disappear in a blink and a blur of speed. Harry was grinning brightly at her and Alice couldn't help but return a small one of her own. Much like Hatter, the young boy's smiles were infectious more often than not.

"I love magic," the pre-teen easily proclaimed, "We _have_ to ride that again yeah?"

"Possibly," Hatter stated as he flicked a worried glance to Alice that she was glad to see became a smile when he saw she was fairing better, "Right. Well, it'd be rude to keep our impatient visitor waiting." He looked around at their surroundings quickly before finding what he was looking for and began to lead the way. The three of them falling into the familiar pattern of navigating a busy city together with Alice holding Hatter's hand and Harry walking alongside them, occasionally grabbing a shirt or hand when they had to move single file through a crowd.

The place Hatter was looking for wasn't far from where the bus had dropped them off as less then ten minutes later they entered a building with the sign 'Down the Rabbit Hole – Missing Persons Specialists' on the window. Alice vaguely remembered upon seeing it that it was the same company Hatter had claimed to work for months back when he'd returned with her father. Squeezing Hatter's hand, he turned to give her a knowing smile as he opened to door to let them all in. The office looked as plain and unremarkable as any other investigation agency Alice had entered, (wood paneling, vinyl floors, walls covered in motivation posters) with the exception of the bored looking man sitting at the front desk, attempting to toss cards into a hat on the floor some six or seven feet away; the many cards surrounding the hat a clear testament to his lack of skill.

He barely paused from his 'work' to give them a look over before jerking his head towards the stairs, "Mic's expecting you lot up above, waiting with that nutter. Got here faster than I thought you would though, so you got a fifty-fifty he's not knocked 'em out yet."

Alice was hesitant to go upstairs and was pleased to see suspicion on Hatter and Harry's faces as well. "Aren't you supposed to be checking some sort of password with us?" she questioned and the man looked at her with distaste.

"Does it look like we get many folks coming through those doors?" the man bit out, "Not to mention it was our branch that helped set up their future history." He waved a hand at Hatter and Harry, "Between that and the King's word, I don't see the harm in giving the system a pass just this once yeah?" The irate man fixed her with a challenging stare before resolutely returning to his attempt at card throwing.

Alice bristled slightly from the man's disregard but a tug from Hatter had her following the cousins upstairs anyway. It wasn't hard to pinpoint what room they should head towards once they reached the next floor as a pair of raised voices could easily be heard arguing; one deep, gruff and threatening, while the other was light, bubbling and seemingly familiar.

Since they were expected anyway, Alice wasn't surprised when Hatter opened the necessary door almost as if he owned the place, and froze on the spot when she saw inside the room. Standing there was quite possibly the last person she'd ever expected to see again from Wonderland…and he hadn't even noticed their presence yet.

"But, why…" Hatter trialed off while was Alice attempting to form a question or something as well when she felt someone push her aside and come into the room. It was Harry, and he easily maneuvered around her; only paused for the briefest of moments before running towards the white haired man standing off to the right of the room.

"Reggie!" he exclaimed with nothing short of absolute happiness as he embraced the older man about the waist.

The older man Alice still couldn't stop mentally labeling as 'The Mad Hatter' let out a rush of air and bent forward slightly from the impact of Harry's embrace. "Goodness gracious!" the man exclaimed and looked down just as Harry stepped back so he could be seen properly. The Mad Hatter gasped in delight upon seeing Harry's face, and Alice had no desire to fight her smile as she watched the reunion fondly.

"Little Hat! You still have your head!" he proclaimed with a grin, "I was ever so worried when you missed _so many_ tea times of course, and then when I heard Hatty's Not-Alice wife took you to see the Queen, I knew it was up to me to convince her of the woman's not Aliceness. Hatty would never admit to such a delusion after all."

"Oi!" Hatter objected.

"'Course not," Harry agreed at the same time.

Mic, the red haired man that Reggie had been arguing with seconds ago, didn't seem to enjoy being ignored and decided to make himself known. "Right then. That's you done," he announced as he started trying to push everyone back out of the room, "You can take your domestics outside and take this loon even further if I'm to be havin' any say about it. And I am at that."

"Now wait just a tic," Hatter objected and closed the door behind them, "You can't mean for him to come with us then?"

"Do you see any other relations of his standing about?" Mic frowned, "Got special permission for relocation and everything from the King – in fact." The man smiled evilly at Hatter now, "His highness passed on a message for yous. Said he feared this man was going senile in his old age, and what sort of ruler would he be after all to be separating such a _devoted_ family member from his only living relations." That revelation was a shock to Alice, though she did suppose it explained some of Hatter's quirks of logic that she'd just brushed off as him coming from Wonderland. It also made her wonder if this was the real origins of his name, and she made a note to tease/ask him about it later.

Looking at him now, she saw Hatter frowning suspiciously at Mic, "So he lets Reggie on through without any word or personal possessions out of the kindness of his royal heart?" Hatter paused before nodding once, "Actually, I take that back, that does sound like something Jack might do."

"You've come to stay with us?" Harry asked the old hat maker brightly, "That'd be brilliant!"

"I have no intention to stay anywhere," Reggie scoffed, "Why would you want to be rooted to one spot Little Hat? Much less in a plain room such as this? Far far too little color and decoration to suit any sane persons needs I dare say."

Alice did her best to disguise her laugh as a cough with that remark but she was fairly sure Reggie was the only one fooled when the hat maker had started asking upon her health and criticizing Hatter's care of his wife. The casual reminder of Reggie's original assumption caused her face to heat up, but she did nothing to deny it this time. It was an idea that didn't seem quite so unappealing anymore really and come to think of it...

She discreetly glanced over at Hatter who had moved closer to talk with Reggie about his options. Hatter hadn't corrected Reggie's mistake either. Alice vaguely recalled him not bothering when she first met the old man as well, but it had at least shocked him then and his indifference to the comment made her wonder how he felt about it now. They'd declared their feelings for each other weeks ago and Alice couldn't – didn't – want to picture a future without him or Harry. Tuning out the chatter from the men in the room, Alice continued with her self analysis until Harry's touch on her elbow brought her out of it.

"Sorry, you guys come to a decision?" she asked and the pre-teen nodded.

"Yup," he responded with a pronounced 'p' like his cousin, "Hatter's got a plan."

* * *

The London Underground wasn't so different from New York's subway system as to cause Hatter any issues navigating it on a normal day…but guiding Reggie through it had been an experience in and of it's self. Children and Adults alike stared at their fairytale character come to life during the increasingly long ride and Hatter once again questioned his decision to turn down the sleeping pills he'd been offered by the former Suits before they left. Harry was a brilliant accomplice, as always, and kept a running dialog with Hatter to keep Reggie distracted from the 'un-proper' world around him. The pair of them were so intent on their plan though that they didn't even notice the sometimes foot wide gaps between train and platform until Alice mentioned it when they'd gone above ground again. Hatter just shrugged it off though. It was just another sense you gained from living in Tugley City if you wanted to survive long was all.

Not far from their departure point of Charing Cross Station, Alice assisted them again in pointing out the normal entrance to the Leaky Cauldron and Hatter made quick work of guiding Reggie upstairs and into Harry's room. Giving out a sigh of relief when he laid down on the bed in his and Alice's room seconds later. This would undoubtedly be one of those experiences that he had no desire of repeating.

"Harry says you have a plan," Alice remarked as she leaned on the bed post at the foot of the bed with her arms crossed, "And I not to be mean…but I really hope it's not to have the Mad Hatter move in with us when we go home."

Hatter smirked at her casual aside of their living arrangement and looked up at her, "I love ol' Reg to bits Alice, but there was a reason we only visited him every other week when not in need of a hat." They shared a smile for a second until he broke it with a stretch along the bed, feeling some self satisfied smugness when Alice's eyes roved over him; meeting his gaze once more after he'd laced his hands behind his head. "Not that I wasn't plannin' on fetching Reggie at some point mind – especially since I found he's family proper like as well – I just figured that time was on the long side for Wonderland, and I'd have longer to set up shop before requestin' his travel through."

Alice sat next to him then with a mischievous smile, "I always knew you were lying with that whole line about your name. 'Always there when they pass the hat.' Really? Has anyone actually believed that?"

"You'd be surprised," Hatter grinned, "Didn't meet Reggie until I was 'bout fourteen and was even older when someone suggested we might be relations. Doubt the Resistance would've taken me a bit seriously if they suspected. His name had fallen out of Legend long before then, but some in the library still pondered his existence in hushed voices." He'd meant to keep the conversation light hearted, but his voice had slipped into softer tones as he remembered his youth, and Alice's hand on his face gave him a small jolt out of it.

"The cons of being - descended?" she questioned and Hatter nodded before she gave one of her own and continued, "From him must've out weighed the few positives I guess. Even though I'm not related to Alice Liddell in anyway, I can relate to how much weight a name can carry…Harry too now for that matter. Though much more directly that's for sure."

Hatter sighed at the reminded of what lay ahead for his cousin and Alice's hand moved to rest on his chest, "What did you think of the school then?"

"I thought we were talking about Reggie?" she frowned.

"It's circular," he retorted, "Now, do you think it'd be a good one?"

Her hand made slightly distracting patterns on his chest as she weighed her words, "I can't say I've ever been to a magical school before, but based off my own experiences with education…" She looked him right in the eye then, and Hatter knew what the answer was. Knew it and didn't want to hear it all at the same time. "It's a good school Hatter. A _really_ good one, even if only half the things Mrs. McGonagall said today were true, and it'd be stupid to just throw away all of that money."

"Not like it'd be _real_ waste yeah? We've got plenty of-"

"That's not the point, and you know it," Alice punctuated her interruption with a poke to his chest, "Now what does Harry's education have to do with the crazy hat maker in the next room?"

Hatter exhaled and closed his eyes. Ever since that first conversation with Alice so many months ago about Harry's tutoring he'd known this would be the end result. It was selfish of him to want to keep his cousin close, he knew that logically. A proper education would open doors that a conman would've found only slightly ajar, and he personally knew how hard it was to make them swing wide. Now that they had options, it was also a life he didn't really want for his younger cousin. It was only by experiencing the range of magic available here these past few days that Hatter was now able to admit his stubbornness on the subject, and decided now was the best time to finally convey his thoughts to Alice.

"Yeah, 's not what it was about, but I liked havin' the option of keeping Harry close by. This school's quite the closed off place and while the magic here makes it easier to visit…it's still a long way from home," he gave Alice a meaningful look, "Truthfully I wanted to think on it for sometime, and then _maybe_ look into movin' over if the city seemed decent like. I'm proxy for the Little Potter for years to come yet, but I've got a stash set up for myself, as well as a shop put aside for me here if I wanted it."

He could see the moment of realization in Alice's eyes before she spoke, "That's why you've made your tea isn't it? You wanted the option of having your own shop again if you liked it here and then…you mentioned earlier you were thinking on bringing Reggie over…" She laughed then as she leaned forward to partly lay across him, elbow propping her head up, "You sure you really want him to set up shop with you?"

"That was the easy decision once I saw how the magical lot dressed on this side of the glass," Hatter smiled as he let one hand drift down to trial along Alice's side, "Bit scary how well Wonderland fashions would fit in here really."

Alice chuckled again and it vibrated pleasantly against his chest, "It really is. I see what you mean about his sudden appearance speeding up your plans then."

Hatter smiled softly at Alice, using his free hand to tuck an errant strand of her hair back behind her ear. She really was a remarkable woman, his Alice. Lovely and shinning and full of fire and the will-to-do to go for whatever she wanted.

Unwilling to fight the urge to do otherwise, Hatter kept his hand behind Alice's head as he simultaneously pulled her towards him and lifted his own head up to meet her in a kiss. She sighed appreciatively when they did; eyes fluttering closed, and she shifted herself over him better so he could lay his head back down on the bed. With the more comfortable angle this position afforded him, it was easy to tilt his mouth and deepen the intensity of their kiss with slow deliberate movements of his lips.

Before completely giving into only feeling, Hatter reflected that perhaps with Alice in his life as well now it wouldn't hurt quite so much to let Harry grow independently on his own a bit.

* * *

That he wasn't quite warm was the first thing that registered through his still foggy thought process.

Not to say he was cold. No. He knew cold. A cold so deep it got into your bones; settling in and hollowing them out with dull edges that ached in pain from every minor movement.

Touch followed behind this new feeling of not cold. He wasn't lying down, not fully anyway, and it wasn't a position he would normally fall asleep in. Chest slumped forward onto a flat surface while his lower half resided in…something; something familiar but not recent. It was the same sort of thought he had about the surface his face resided against. It was flat and hard like his bed, but lacked the smooth groves he'd made in it over the years from where he'd lain on it. No, this surface was smooth from the start it seemed.

His fingers twitched with the desire to touch it involuntarily. The fog of his mind was clearing but not reaching any sort of order, but that was okay. He didn't need much order, just movement and as he concentrated on his desire, his fingers flexed out and ran down to smooth surface until hitting the end. Yes, this surface was much nicer and thinner than his bed so he wasn't in his room any more it seemed…but why?

Suddenly the desire to see where he was now became overwhelming. His eyes flew open but for a brief second as the harsh light burned his eyes, causing him to shut them once more. Why was it so bright? Where was he? What place could possibly need so much light? So much not cold?

The fog was finally gone as the questions clamored for attention in his mind and then, to his surprise and shocked delight, he found that if he concentrated on ordering them, they slowly fell into place. Yes, this was how a mind was supposed to work. Order amongst the chaos of life in one's own head and a proper one at that; not the brief respites his other half gave him when he had the strength.

In this new found attempt at order, it became clear that sight would answer many of his questions. Letting out a shallow breath, he eased his eyes open slowly this time; giving his regressed irises a chance to adapt to the brightness surrounding him. There was pain of course, but he had experienced many levels of pain and cataloged them away over the many years. He knew this pain was minor, an inconvenience at best, and now that he had a motivation what was a little pain? What was a lot of pain? Nothing he couldn't handle.

Rapid blinking followed as his eyesight finally adjusted to the harsh lighting, allowing him to finally see his surroundings. Dull walls (but not the gray stone of his cell a voice in his mind noted), no window that he could see, and a flat brown surface that he was currently slumped over (a table the voice supplied again helpfully). Long starved processes in his mind were firing now and the need for more information was overwhelming so he did the only thing he could to appease them and slowly, so slowly, sat up. It didn't hurt like he expected it would (sitting shouldn't hurt the voice commented) and it took him only a few seconds to connect in his mind that it was the not cold feeling that made sitting bearable. A new feeling settled into him at this realization. Enjoyment, contentment at being in this room of not cold. Just as quickly it was overtaken by an all to familiar feeling though. Fear.

He didn't want to go back to the cold after having not cold now. He'd been cold for so very, very long; always cold (not always the voice insisted, there had been a before cold).

Keeping with his new drive of being not cold, he looked about the room and the voice in his head quickly supplied a name for it. Confinement chamber. The words were long and felt heavy in his mind but once they were there he knew it was true…then the voice told him what they were for.

Interrogation. Questioning. Imprisonment. Guilty.

He frowned at that last one. There had to be a mistake then. Even when his mind had lacked order he knew one thing. He wasn't guilty, he was innocent. Why was he innocent though? The why had never mattered much before, just that he knew he was, but now amongst the order of his new mind he found he wanted to know why. Would the voice tell him? It had been quite helpful so far after all.

It might have done so, but a new sense greeted his slowly organizing mind as the wood section of the wall (door the helpful voice stated) squeaked open. A familiar but not hallway was visible for a few seconds until guards blocked his vision. He blinked. No not guards, something else, some_one_ else.

A pair of strangely dressed people walked in and sat across the table from him. His vision followed them intently even when the door closed with a very familiar locking noise. They were clean like guards were but didn't have negatives on their face. These people looked pleasant like actually…and he wasn't sure if that was good or bad yet.

The female placed a thin box (briefcase) on the table as she spoke, "Hello Mr. Black. We represent Addams and Addams legal consulting, and we are here to secure your freedom and legal citizenship."

These words caused a powerful stirring in him. He'd been waiting for these words. Maybe not these exact ones, but ones like them he was sure. The voice whispered to him once more and he felt the twitch of a smile in agreement with it. Yes, for the first time in what he knew was many, many years…Sirius Black felt a spark of hope light inside of him.

* * *

Hatter and Alice were eventually able to finish their conversation and decide on a real plan, which was the same as Hatter had been thinking of already of course, but with some extra details from Alice. They took dinner in their rooms that night as the trio did their best to explain things to Reggie about where he was and what was going to happen. While he wasn't quite sure the old hat maker believed he was really on the other side of the Looking Glass (a place he referred to as Alice's country), he seemed not at all concerned with setting up a new shop here. Even, and Hatter felt slightly anxious at this note, a bit too excited by the prospect really.

"Can't possibly be worse, location wise. Dreadful business snagging people there you know," he shook his pocket watch with a frown before dunking it in his tea a few times, "Shouldn't have spoken with the new King I suppose. Gone and angered Time again it seems. He keeps skipping things about on me now. Being stuck at Tea Time had a decidedly more pleasant feel about it."

Hatter wisely clapped a hand over Alice's mouth when she went to correct him, and he shook his head to let her know that was a topic she wouldn't win on. Ever.

Harry seemed torn when they settled down for bed later after their many discussions, and Hatter couldn't blame him the lad. Reggie was best taken in doses and the cousins really weren't sure if the man ever slept properly with all the energy he seemed to poses. Clever Alice was a step ahead of them though as when she came back from speaking to the inn keeper about an extra bed, she passed Hatter small bottle that the man claimed would knock a grown man out for a full eight hours. A slip of the liquid into the older man's night time cup hand him out flat seconds later.

They were just about to worry the next morning when the tenth hour passed with no sign of waking when Reggie abruptly sat up and began pondering if the Sun was in league with Time as 'it certainly shouldn't be so light out when the moon had risen only moments ago.'

Mentally prepared for the day ahead now, Hatter left Alice and Harry to distract Reggie over a late breakfast while he made a dash for Gringotts to retrieve a few things. The blazing fast trip down to his personal vault of the Potter account had him wondering just what magical people considered to be a small amount if the easily six foot pile of gleaming gold and silver before him was any indicator to go by. The devious part of him grinned as he seriously pondered if his young cousin (and of course by proxy himself) was now richer than good King Jack.

With an extra smile in his step on his way back, Hatter retrieved his slightly flustered family from his room and led them back down Diagon Alley proper. The feeling of this magical shopping district was quite different from Mulberry Street back in New York. Instead of embracing the chaos that existed in the designs there, the shop fronts here, while varying wildly in size and general layout from each other, had a very old feel about them. Not the decaying sort of feel some parts of Tugley City had, more like the place was stuck in time really and he already knew a remaking of his bit of land would be required. Perhaps Carpenter would help him with it? Or maybe even that Connor lad? Now there was a bloke that could match Reggie's energy level.

A few yards after they turned off of Diagon Alley proper and onto Allegoric Alley, landed them in front of what was likely to be the future premises of Mad Hatters Inc. The front appeared well maintained and was made from some sort of reddish wood color with two large windows on either side of the entrance. Hatter smiled as he saw possibilities forming in his mind, especially when he found the inside to be suspiciously larger than the outside suggested it would be. The wood was darker here and it came as little surprise that both the front and back rooms of the shop lacked any furnishings; a trend that thankfully did not continue on the second floor. Some of the furniture there was quite dated, and Hatter only knew how a handful of the magical devices, such as the cooling box and heat bench, worked thanks to his time spent with Carpenter, but overall the place was just as it had been listed in the will. A small shop that would allow someone to rebuild their life…and that's just what Hatter was going to use it for. Just not for himself.

"Hatter?" Harry called as he heard his cousin's light footfalls come up the stairs.

"I'm in the back Little Potter," he responded loudly and smiled when he appeared seconds later, "Whatcha think then? Bit of alright yeah?"

"'S not bad," Harry smiled as he looked around the room, "You were planning on settin' up Reggie here right?"

Hatter nodded once, "Thought he might enjoy it, and we'd only be a portkey trip away yeah? Easy enough to visit like before, but-"

"But you're worried how he might be without someone to keep an eye on him," his cousin added sagely, "Wonderland is filled with mad people, but we don't know if these wizards will find Reggie a bit _too_ mad yeah?"

"Got it in one," Hatter agreed, "We've the rest of the week to feel this lot out before we make a decision of course, but it'd be brilliant if it worked out." A rapping at the window drew the attention of the pair just then and Hatter was only slightly surprised to see an owl waiting on the ledge there. After throwing open the window, the bird settled on a near by armchair and held out his leg for Hatter to retrieve the attached note. He felt Harry's eyes on him as he did so, obviously wondering what it could be about. Hatter frowned as he quickly read the letter. It was a confirmation of the trial date, along with a note about his lawyers' concern over Mr. Black's mental state; though they didn't think it would have much weight on the case as a whole. It was more of a 'be prepared' warning on his part. If everything panned out well he was looking to gain another mad man to watch after. _Lovely._ He shoved the note in his jacket pocket before casually informing his younger cousin, "The trial for Black's been set for tomorrow it seems. Think you can handle another day with Reggie on your own without goin' a touch mad yourself?"

Harry smirked, "Well I'll have Alice for company this time won't I? Loads more fun to watch her confusion around him," he shrugged before continuing, "He'll probably just want to make hats though, since he's got none here. Not sure if he can go a day without, so yeah, should be fine."

Hatter gave him a wry smile and arched is eyebrow, "Try not to swipe too many for yourself yeah?"

* * *

The lighting was dim in courtroom eight on the deepest levels of the Ministry of Magic as robed wizards and witches slowly filled the raised semi-circular benches that surrounded the simple furniture at the base. There was an undercurrent of energy in the whispers that accompanied the arrival of the members of the Wizengamot as they gossiped about the case they were to sit upon this afternoon. Most found it an exercise in folly of a highly unlikely situation, a handful dared to wonder and hope about the man who would stand judgment today…and all of them were eager to see if the other _juicer_ room would prove it's self true.

A hush descended over the court when an elderly man with a beard so long he could tuck it into his belt sat down in the seat of honor in the middle of the room's curve. The man arranged a sheaf of papers before him and when he found their placement adequate, acknowledged his second, an equally elderly but much more rotund man, followed by one to his left where the scribe for this case was seated. Once her quill was set at the ready and her personal additions set out before her, the scribe returned her show of readiness and the long bearded man beckoned in a strong voice, "Let the accused enter."

The doors on the far side of the courtroom swung inward at his command, and five individuals steadily made their way forward, with a sixth proceeding much more slowly as his gaunt and unkempt face took everything in; his restraints rattling with every step he took. There was a rustle and a quick murmur that ran through the crowd with his appearance, but it quickly dissipated.

One pair moved to the left of the room with the younger female of the two giving a decisive flick of her wand that conjured a simple but sturdy long table with matching chairs. The older woman nodded once, giving her approval, before setting down a small pile of papers and a few other objects that grew in size as she tapped each of them with her wand.

The quartet took residence on the opposite side, with the pencil thin mustached man conjuring a very gothic and ornate table of deep mahogany and accompanying leather upholstered chairs on wheels for each member of his group. The gaunt looking man was then carefully eased into the seat closest to the center of the courtroom by the mustached man. The woman of the group had her hair one in a simple plait that ended half way down her back and prepared their own documents along the table, but people paid her little mind as they watched the hat wearing man with memory stirring flyaway hair casually seat himself one chair away from the one in shackles; seemingly unaffected by the event occurring before him.

"Ladies and gentle wizards," the voice of the bearded man rang through the quiet, "We are here this afternoon, the twentieth of May two thousand and one, to sit trial and bare judgment on the person of interest Sirius Orion Black. He is brought before this body accused of the murder of twelve muggles, the murder of the wizard Peter Pettigrew, and his suspected direct involvement leading to the deaths of James and Lily Potter. These events occurring on the second of November, and the thirty first of October in the year nineteen ninety one respectively." The man drew himself up in height and peered down at the unkempt man through half moon glasses with a slight touch of pity, though the man in question did not see it, "I, Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, do here by announce these proceedings as having begun and that my mind is my own and open to the possibilities that lay before my judgment today. So do I vow."

The Chief Warlock touched is wand tip to the right armrest of his chair when he finished, causing it to flare a white blue before returning to it's normal shade of gold. Flashes in varying shades of blue rippled across the room immediately after as the other members of the Wizengamot repeated Dumbledore's vow. About a dozen of them flashed mauve instead before the chair, and its occupant, quite suddenly vanished from the room as their oath was found wanting or of a bias nature. With the formalities disposed of, Dumbledore motioned towards the pair on his left to begin.

"Esteemed members of the Wizengamot," the pepper gray haired woman stood, "As Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement I, Amelia Susan Bones, stand before you today to make sure justice is upheld in a case that appears to be trivial on all fronts, but shows a great miscarriage of justice and deception in the heart of our justice system."

"A grave injustice indeed," the mustached man loudly declared from the other table, "For over nine years, my client was left to rot in your prisons with not a stir of compassion from the masses _so eager_ to vilify he, a prominent son of your society," he passionately declared as he pointed an accusing finger at those surrounding him. "_You_, who choose to sweep him away without a trial – _Nay_! Not even the thought of one! As you lumped him in with your villains and your suspicions well it is to you, dear esteemed members, that I say if there is any villain in this room," he smiled vindictively at the captive audience before him, "It is you."

There was a muffling of voices that flittered about the room in outrage at this man's declaration, but a single colorful burst from Dumbledore's wand brought the room swiftly to order once more. "Thank you, Mr. Addams, for that very passionate statement," the bearded wizard smiled with a twinkle in his eyes, "Whom do you speak for to bring this case before us today?"

"The exact name of our client is unnecessary for these proceedings," the raven haired woman declared as she stood up from behind the bench, "But it may be known that we at Addams and Addams stand before you in representation of one of the aggrieved." She paused from her monotone to look directly at the Chief Warlock, "Namely that of the Potter family." The gaunt form of Sirius Black's head shot up at attention just before the room clamored with activity once more.

After two successive light bursts failed to quell the tide of intrigue caused by Ms. Addams announcement, Dumbledore let out a wave of sound that cause their ears to ring for a handful of seconds. "Silence," Dumbledore declared, looking around the room until the Wizengamot was settled, where upon he redirected his gaze towards the unmoved form of the young Ms. Addams with a grandfatherly smile. "Not necessary though it may be, after the misuse of justice that led us here today, it would assure the fears of this court if the identity was made known."

"Documentations requiring the use of a blood quill for the verification of claim as proxy account holder and acting head of the Potter family were provided in advanced and have been authenticated by the goblin Clan Gringotts leader Ragnok and Madam Bones herself," she raised one eyebrow minutely but kept her tone plain, if slightly accusing, "Surely due proof by Brittan's own justice system is assurance enough to our claim by right of the afflicted in accordance with ruling eleven sub marking 'b', Chief Warlock."

Dumbledore frowned, "Under typical circumstances that would of course be the case, but as was stated at the start of these dealings, this is hardly a typical state of affair."

"All the more reason to give to treat it as if it were," Madam Bones stated firmly as all eyes focused on her, a few members gasping in surprise or shock. "If you recall from your briefing this morning, Chief Warlock, you'll no doubt remember how adamant even our own Minister is to see this trial play out in accordance with the law."

The Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot continued to look put out, but did not press the issue of identity. The unnamed man in the hat next to Mr. Addams let out a subtle rush of air…but no one had been paying him much of any attention for some time now.

Madam Bones nodded once before retrieving a thin scroll from her desk, head held back as she seemed to look each of the seventy three remaining members of the Wizengamot in the eye. "The people of Magical Brittan would like to begin this trial by questioning the accused with the aide of veritaserum."

"Does the aggrieved consent?" the Chief Warlock inquired.

The quiet member of the Addams legal firm in the hat nodded once, "The aggrieved does indeed consent; having full knowing an' awareness of the possible consequences."

Dumbledore's gaze zeroed in on the man for a few long seconds before he regarded Sirius Black, "And does the accused consent? Having full knowledge and awareness as well?"

Sirius Black gave a quick swipe of his tongue across overly chapped lips, holding the Chief Warlock's look as he nodded once slowly; answering in a voice still rough from lack of use, "He does."

A weariness settled upon Dumbledore as he sighed and closed his eyes for but a moment before nodding once as well, "So mote it be then." A flick of his wand caused the sealed courtroom doors to swing open briefly, admitting a scarlet robed man floating a sealed vial before him. Madam Bones thanked him as she took the vile, marking an entry in a journal the scarlet wearing man produced from his robes. The journal was provided for the court scribe's documentation and duplication, after which the man was silently dismissed by the Chief Warlock with a nod.

Madam Bones waited until the doors were sealed once more before uncorking the vial of clear liquid and placing a single drop of it on her own tongue. Her eyes glazed over instantly before mostly clearing away as she spoke in a monotone voice, "My name is Amelia Bones and I was born on November the fifth, in nineteen forty three." The scribe nodded her approval of the vials' ability and Ms. Addams moved to stand before Madam Bones; allowing the woman to place a single drop on her own tongue.

After her eyes went through a similar transition, the young woman's unchanged monotone rang out from a slightly amused looking face, "My name is Wednesday Addams. I was born on April the thirteenth in nineteen seventy four."

Mr. Addams was waiting with a securing hand on Sirius Black's shoulder when the two women approached, but it ended up being unnecessary. Sirius tilted his head back and offered up his tongue compliantly for easy access. Madam Bones administered the full does this time, three generous drops that were instantly absorbed by the body. The gaunt man swayed forward slightly before Mr. Addams caught him with both hands upon his shoulders.

Mere seconds later, clouded eyes rolled up to stare unblinking at Madam Bones and she asked, "What did you do on October Thirty first, nineteen ninety one, Sirius Black?"

The man did not move save for taking a deep shuddering breath.

…and then the truth spilled from his lips.

* * *

There was something very sad about the man before him Harry thought.

Well, besides the obvious unkempt nature he was in of course.

Hatter hadn't made it back to the inn until well after supper time Wednesday night. It was clear he hadn't wanted to talk about the events of the trial, but had obliged his and Alice's request once he'd gotten some food in his system. Their lawyers had anticipated the opposition quite well and it was thanks to them that Harry had a new family member.

It was a boggling concept really, but one he thought he might be getting used to.

Seemed like forever ago when he couldn't imagine being happier with anyone besides Hatter to care for him. Then of course Alice came along and eventually made a home for herself with them, giving Harry motherly concern and a comforting touch he hadn't known he needed. Alice was a package deal though as Robert and Carol regularly took part in his life as well, often doting upon him sweetly like Alice did, but more excessively so. Carol often doling out sweets behind Hatter's back, while Robert indulged Harry's passion to learn and try all things magical. He didn't quite have a word for their place yet, but they were a part of his family now as well, and he rather liked them more than he thought he would in the beginning.

Mr. Black lay in a potion induced sleep on the hospital bed before him. They'd been told it was to help his mind heal from the effects brought upon by the menacing sounding jailors of the prison here, and that he wouldn't awake until sometime next week; long after they'd taken him back home to New York where Hatter and Alice could keep an eye on his recovery. Harry frowned as he weighed the stranger on the bed. This man…he represented old wishes and dreams.

Mr. Black was from his parent's life. They'd titled him as his godfather so that he might care for Harry should the worst come to happen, but when it had…he hadn't. Physically couldn't Harry now knew, but it was quite a thing to know the person you'd wished for – and thought you'd already found at that – was much closer than he ever knew. Would he try and force that claim now? Would Harry have to go with him? What if this man, this stranger, _didn't_ want him? He'd been arrested days after Harry became an orphan after all. This stranger might not even-

"Alright there?"

Hatter's voice jolted him out of his thoughts and he blinked a few times before his cousin came into focus properly. "Sorry, yeah," Harry replied, looking back at the man on the bed before him, "Just, ya know, thinkin' about things."

"'Course," Hatter smiled casually as he came to stand by Harry.

He wasn't sure how long they stared at Mr. Black in the late hours of the evening on Thursday, but it was Harry who broke the silence. "So mad, yeah?"

"Might be," Hatter nodded once, "Seemed a fair shade saner than Reggie yesterday, but we won't know for sure until he wakes up. Could be worse off really."

They lapsed in silence briefly again until Harry spoke, "What happens if he isn't? What do we do then?"

Harry looked up at Hatter then, and felt the reassurance in his cousin's eyes as Hatter placed a hand on his shoulder. "Got each other don't we?" Hatter smiled, "Up to him what madness he chooses to join really."

* * *

Less than 100 meters away from the island, he could already feel the inherent coldness caused by the dementors seeping under his skin. Quite a feat indeed when one considered how warm blooded he was. The wizard at the bow was focused on guiding them through the early morning fog that settled around Azkaban, and it allowed him time to read his letter once more.

It was all still there. Ink slightly worn in places where he'd crumpled it or traced over parts of it during the last twelve hours as his sleep deprived mind considered it's contents, but it was still just as clear. After over nine years of waiting, four of those spent having given up hope on it happening, the day had finally come. He'd gotten permission to visit the dreaded island of Azkaban.

Remus J. Lupin would finally get the answers he craved from his once close friend.

The boat jolted to a stop beside the docks and Remus leapt from the boat with all the inherent grace his condition provided him. His escort tossed him an amused look before leading the way to the intimidating fortress his government called a prison. The place lacked any sort of gate, and who would need one in this place really? Already Remus was wondering if he shouldn't just turn around. Claim it had all been a mistake and run from this stone stronghold of pain.

He shook that thought violently aside though. No, he would see this through. What did a few more meters matter when his body already felt it was made of ice?

They passed through the main hallway and Remus happily noted the warming feeling that returned to him there; his mind already noting the likely effects of either a vibrant patronus or a cheering/warming ward that likely enshrouded the area. His guide stopped before a door clearly marked for the warden, knocking three times before a voice from behind it bellowed they enter.

The warden was beefy man with a thick neck mostly hidden behind his beard and gave Remus an entirely too calculating gaze and the former no longer wondered if he was expected. Knowing that the guard who held his wand was being dismissed to wait outside did nothing to assure his growing fears either. The warden didn't even bother to take Remus' letter; just looked at him with a growing smile. "I'm afraid you've come too late if you wanted to visit Black," the man chuckled, "Got pulled out three days ago, probably been executed by now. Nice quite push through the veil I'd wager."

Remus tempered down his anger as he let out a rushed breath. It wouldn't do to egg the man on when he wasn't in position to properly defend himself, "What a strange happenstance considering I only received permission late last night don't you think?"

"Post isn't what it used to be I suppose. We could always take you by his cell if you like gov'ner? Fix you up nice and cozy to wait and see if he comes back for ya," there was no denying the malicious glint in the warden's eyes then and Remus quickly began to calculate the likelihood of his leaving here still a somewhat legal citizen of the British magical society. The odds really weren't looking good when he did but before the warden could say anything beyond his thinly veiled threat, the door to his office was unapologetically thrown open.

Remus was never quite so surprised and pleased to see Kingsley Shacklebolt as he was in that moment.

The dark skinned man's eyes darted quickly between Remus and the warden before finally coming to a decision as they rested on the man behind the desk. "Is there a problem Warden Fenwick?"

Fenwick frowned aggressively at Kingsley, "No Shacklebolt. I was just informing Mr. Lupin how unlucky he was to have missed his old friend Black." Kingsley's forehead wrinkled in displeasure as he opened his mouth to speak, but Remus beat him too it.

"A bit of bad luck no doubt," he calmly insisted with just the slightest touch of sarcasm. Kingsley was terribly noble, but he wasn't about to let his exit window get ruined by an old friend's well meaning concern.

The warden fixed Remus with a tight nod, "Of course."

Remus caught Kingsley's eye and the man nodded once and then spoke to the warden, "I'll escort Mr. Lupin out for you then shall I? I was just stopping by to let you know I was heading back to the Ministry anyway."

"You do that then," the warden huffed, clearly put out that he'd lost the chance to lock up another 'dangerous creature', but knowing better than to pretend he'd even intended it to happen with a high ranking Auror present.

Kingsley nodded once before motion for Remus to follow him back out into the hall. If his former escort from the boat ride over was surprised to see him headed away from the prison once more, he gave to illusion to it as he calmly handed Remus' wand over to Kingsley. It was a weighty comfort in his palm when it was finally back in his own hand once more.

Neither man spoke as they made the journey down to the docks, waiting instead until the pair was aboard one of the boats and a good few meters off the prison island. "This has to be the last place I'd ever expected to run into you Remus," Kingsley shook his head with a sad sigh, "What possessed you to come here anyway? Were you truly looking for Black?"

"I'd put in the request ages ago," Remus supplied as he passed his admittance paper over to the former Order of the Phoenix member, "Never thought when the day came that Black might not be here." He paused before giving a sigh of his own, "Should've known it would end up as a ruse from some anti-werewolf bureaucrat though. Been living in with the Muggles for too long I fear."

"I suppose, but that doesn't mean you should treat it like you don't deserve better," Kingsley replied as he passed the note back, "but it wasn't quite the master plan you seem to think it was either. Black really was released three days ago, sat trial most of Wednesday even. They'd neglected to give him one in the past decade it seems." Something in the way Kingsley phrased his statement caused Remus' throat to seize up as a thought he'd dared not think for many long years resurfaced.

It couldn't be…it wasn't possible…

Kingsley tilted his head considering at Remus now, "Been front page news of the prophet since Thursday morning. Surely you didn't stop your subscription just because you went to ground?"

Of course he had. What little wizarding currency he kept was for emergencies only. Hell, he'd spent most of it just arranging for his passage to Azkaban. "What happened," Remus croaked out, "What…what did they say?"

"Innocent on all accounts if you can believe it. I know I didn't until the Director let me view her memory of the interrogation. They even doused him up on veritaserum," he edged out a laugh then, "Apparently I wasn't the first to question if the story was true. You know how the prophet can be after all."

Remus couldn't breathe. Innocent. How? How could he have been innocent? He gingerly sat down on the bench behind him and placed his head in his hands as he felt dizzy from the sudden revelation. All this time, all that _wasted_ time and he'd been so sure. So very, very sure of Sirius guilt. What would his former (current?) friend think of him? Remus knew he would feel abandoned if it had been him. Already had really but now…now…

Now he needed answers.

With a deathly serious expression, Remus slowly looked up at Kingsley, "Tell me everything."

* * *

Author's Comments: *meekly peaks out of hiding* Any of you still with me? Hopefully not wanting to kill me? I really don't know why I struggled so hard with this chapter. All that crafting I did helped though as I wrote 13 pages of this in the last two days. That's got to make up for something yeah? ^_^ Oh, speaking of my story, a few fun facts. Tumbling into Madness has accumulated 266 Favs, is in 46 C2s, and has almost 50,000 (recorded) pageviews. Exciting stuff for something born out of a random thought over a year ago. Curiouser and Curiouser is slowly climbing that way, but I'm not too surprised as it'll easily be double the length of it's predecessor.

I hope you all don't mind that I didn't carry on and on with the trial scene. Really, if you're an avid fic reader like I am, you've seen how these things go and I put my spin on the government proceedings enough in the beginning to let you know how I felt it would/should proceed. We also see the beginning of my expanding on HP canon here. I'm a fan of the 'We don't know everything about the magical world cause Harry-as a young preteen/teenage boy-couldn't care less about those details' when it comes to filling in canon holes, as opposed to the 'magic is awesome but like, sooo inferior to technology' school of thought. I really see these societies as two sides of a 'see a need fill a need' coin, it allows for much more creativity on the author's part I think.

I'll try and get another chapter out before my convention next month on Memorial Day weekend, but I really plan on focusing on my crafting so that I will actually have things to sell. ^_^ Anyway, hope this chapter was worth the wait and thanks as always for your continued reviews and support. You keep coming back for more and it pushes me to write more and better things! ^_^


	10. Sometimes the only solution

_Chapter 10:_ _Sometimes the only solution is to find a new problem_

Even knowing what they did about Harry's fame before committing to going through with the trial and it's required trip to England, come Friday morning Hatter realized he'd drastically underestimated the impact his younger cousin's name would have on the issue. While the papers had run several articles covering the trial for Sirius Black, that amount was almost matched by the number of pieces about not just Harry, but Hatter as well! Though Hatter's name was thankfully still being left out so far, he knew it wouldn't be long before they found him out.

The questions posed by the press ranged from the sensibly curious (_Would the public finally be allowed to thank their savior properly in public now with the Potter name being brought so dramatically to light?_), to the extreme conspiracy theorists, (_Could the account proxy be a charlatan or even a Death Eater so cunning as to fool even the goblins and sought to finish where his master had left off; or simply steal the boy's inheritance?_), to the frankly, in Hatter's mind at least, outright terrifying (_Sources say the Potter account proxy is of direct relation to the Potter line and unwedded! Could there be a Potter bachelor on the market sooner than we believed?_).

Alice had just shaken her head and mumbled something on how the 'more things stay the same' when she'd read the articles Friday morning, but had still shot him a curious glance or two while she looked over them. She'd wanted to keep the papers away from Harry after giving them a read, but Hatter had balked at her suggestion saying, "How's keeping him in the dark gonna do any of us any good? He's not stupid Alice, but we can't expect him to know what not to do if he's not properly informed."

She'd sighed dejectedly, "I suppose it was too much to hope that he'd get to hold on to some small amount of childhood innocence with everything he's been through."

"Oh he's got plenty of that about him," Hatter smirked and Alice gave him a doubtful look, "and not half as much of it's faked lately. 'S just never a good thing when the world knows more about you than you do. A little information can be much more deadly than too much. That's a lesson Harry learned well so he's likely to be insulted if you tried to pretend like nothing was being said about him with all…this."

Though she still hadn't looked happy about it, Alice had agreed that Harry should be kept informed on what was being said about him in the paper. When Hatter had left to go and retrieve the medical paperwork on Black for his upcoming transferal to New York with them this Sunday, Alice was still in the process of explaining the fine line papers in this world walked when it came to freedom of speech, and what people could actually get in trouble for saying versus implying. Tugley City hadn't had nearly such a gray area after all. You were either for the Queen or not, and Harry's name had never been in print anyway so he'd not troubled himself on the matter.

Using his advanced experience at reading people, Hatter felt he was successfully able to avoid the suspicion of those who were likely to be reporters in disguise mingling at the entrance room of Saint Mungos. The woman with curly blonde hair and bright green robes didn't even seem to be trying to hide that she was one though. Course he had to admit if he hadn't been on the lookout for them already he likely wouldn't have noticed the calculating glances she gave each newcomer. Taking cue from his lawyers however, Hatter was now sporting an open front medium brown robe instead if his leather jacket and blended in far better than he had during his trips to the Ministry.

He casually strode through the strange injuries and reporters in the Lobby as if this was a weekly routine for him; even giving the plump blonde receptionist a flirtatious smile along with a wave that she cheerily returned before looking sullenly at the slightly scarred gentleman who was talking to her and attempting to persuade over some conflict that escaped his hearing. Hatter turned a hall, went up a flight of stairs, and followed a few more twists and turns before passing a seated healer in lime green robes. The man didn't even bother to look up from his paper to see who Hatter was as the conman slipped into the unmarked door beside him.

Another man in similar colored robes was already inside the room, waving his wand over two stacks of paper, while the only other occupant continued to lay as perfectly still as he had been since Wednesday evening. Healer Smethwyck in that horrid shade of green looked up as the door clicked shut behind Hatter and gave him a professional nod before going back to his wand waving. "Good day Mr. Hatter," the healer greeted him. "I'm just finishing duplication of my official recommendation for Mr. Black's treatment. It's a hard case to quantify and I do wish your employer would reconsider the patient's relocation during such a delicate time of his mental stability."

Hatter frowned, "I thought you said he'd be out for weeks yet, and, that he's not likely to remember being taken out of prison, much less the last few days then?"

"Well that's the working theory yes," the man brusquely replied, sealing one set of notes with a flick of his wand inside a plain looking dark green folder, "but surely even with your limited legal experience as a junior member of your law firm you must know how _rare_ of a case Mr. Black's is? Of course treatments exist for limited exposure to the emotional and mental onslaught a dementor can have on a man, but the degree he's suffered?"

Smethwyck shook his head solemnly and moved to stand a few feet in front of Hatter, right at Black's beside. "It is nothing short of a miracle that he was lucid enough for a trial by my best estimates, and it's my personal research on the subject alone that landed him in my ward. I fear for what they will do with him in the States," his sigh morphed quickly into a frown as the gray haired healer turned to face Hatter properly; arms crossed over his chest. "Still, that's to be expected when it comes to dealing with purebloods I suppose. Think they can solve any problem just by throwing their name or their money around. Even magic has it limits though."

"I suppose," Hatter hesitated, "But, surely he's just worried about how things might go if Mr. Black was left here while he's all the way in the States yeah?" Hatter wasn't a fan of these awkward in between lies and truth moments he kept running into ever since the trial. Having Harry in his life had made him much less anonymous back in Wonderland and Hatter could feel how rusty he was at feigning indifference at being on the opposite side of the decision he'd directly created. Not to mention the out of depth feeling the magical world of England left him with on a cultural level. It was a strange mix of better but also worse than living in New York. Perhaps it was just that he'd not had to deal with anything beyond the surface level there that was causing it?

Healer Smethwyck's words broke him out of his tangled thoughts. "Possibly," the man grudgingly admitted, "Though it would be one of the few instances where-"

What would've been said next Hatter would never know as in a blink; Sirius Black had jolted up in bed and quickly wrapped Smethwyck in a chokehold. The Healer was gasping for air and lifted his hands to try and remove himself from Black's hold. But all this allowed was for Black to grab the man's wand right out of his hand and point it threateningly at Hatter. The conman was at a loss for just what to do as he held his hands in front of him in a non-threatening gesture. Black's eyes were darting around the room, trying to gather his bearings most likely, but Hatter recognized the look of someone strung out on the wrong sorts of emotions all too easily.

"Just calm down, alright?" Hatter beseeched calmly, "No one's gonna hurt you-"

"Why should I believe you," the disheveled man's scratchy and deadly serious voice bit out. He gripped the struggling healer a bit tighter, "I won't fall for any of your master's illusions, as I doubt your precious _Dark Lord_," the man spit out those words as if they were something vile in his mouth, "would be so kind as to place me in St. Mungo's after the pleasure I was experiencing at his hands!"

Hatter had absolutely no idea what this crazed man was talking about, though he could hazard a few guesses from what little he knew, and he pushed down the fear of being on the opposite end of a madman with magic at hid disposal. "It's not what you think," he insisted in a steady voice, "You're not well. You're minds all mixed up right now, and we're trying to help you mate-"

"Lies!" Black bellowed and with a quick movement of his wrist sent a nasty looking yellow jet of light towards Hatter, causing him to duck rapidly. Either his timing wasn't right or Black's aim was off though as the light impacted with Hatter's hat, causing it to flying off his head and land yards away from him.

"Oi!" Hatter yelled angrily and ran a hand through his uncovered hair; his fear of the situation being over ridden by his anger now. Here he was trying to help some bloke he barely knew for Harry's sake, (and a slight bit of his own curiosity) and the man had the never to ruin one of his hats? His charity could only be stretched so far really.

"Watch it you mangy bastard," Hatter threatened with narrowed eyes and a frown.

Just as he was about to say more though, Black's eyes widened in surprise and his mouth flapped open a few times before the broken voice choked out, "James?"

It was Hatter's turn to be caught off guard as his anger was wiped clean by confusion. James? Who was that? He swiftly racked his brain for any connections from what little he knew about this Sirius Black bloke. The man had just released a now coughing and gasping Smethwyck, the wand slipping from loose fingers and clattering to the tiled floor as he reached a hesitant hand out towards Hatter when it hit him. James. Harry's father and his cousin or uncle of some sorts if he remembered correctly. He'd seen the pictures and sure there was a family resemblance between the three of them, admittedly a bit stronger towards Hatter due to age at the moment, but it certainly wasn't enough to hold up under close examination. A plan formed in Hatter's mind instantly then and he shifted to stand a bit more relaxed, holding out welcoming arms as if he really was beckoning an old friend.

"Sirius, mate," he grinned widely, "you had me worried there for a mo'." Sirius let out a half sob half laugh and grinned widely at Hatter's words as he stumbled the few steps towards him. It broke Hatter's heart a bit to see the expression knowing what he was about to do. Just when Sirius was finally in reach, his eyes scanning Hatter's face in disbelief still, Hatter let his arms drop back down and formed his right hand into a fist, "Sorry mate," he murmured sincerely. Before Sirius could register the change, Hatter pulled back his arm, and decked the crazed man full on the side of his head. Sirius fell like the thin bit of skin and bones Hatter could easily see he was now and fell to the ground with a muffled 'oof' noise.

Smethwyck grabbed his wand off the floor and used the bed to help himself up. "What did you do that for?" the man angrily demanded as he strode over to stand before Hatter.

"Sorry?" Hatter asked, confused. Had the man missed some of the exchange while he was regaining his breath?

"Black!" the healer gestured to the unconscious man on the floor before moving his wand in sweeping motions and levitating Sirius back onto his bed, "What in the name of Merlin's beard did you punch him for?"

Hatter's swept away anger quickly rose back to the surface, "Did you forget that he was going to attack us? Not to mention the likely hood that he was going to kill you first!"

"Well you could've just stunned him!" Smethwyck insisted, moving his wand in quick but anger fueled arcs and jabs as he stood over by Sirius's bedside once more, "Now we'll have to hope your actions didn't result in aiding or increasing his already extensive mental trauma." The man huffed, still upset but clearly being pushed aside by his professionalism, and sent one last reproaching glare at Hatter as he strode out of the room, "Your firm will be the ones to answer to whoever this mysterious Potter account proxy is if that's the case."

As he watched the door close behind the healer, Hatter felt his anger leave him once again. Feeling slightly numb, he reached his right hand into the inside robe pocket, pulled out his wand, and stared at it. It hadn't even occurred to him to use it. Even if he admittedly had no idea what spell would've allowed him to stun someone, much less know if he could perform it. Still, he knew a few things. Enough to have caused a distraction and get some proper help surely. His finely honed instincts had kicked in first however and he'd gone with the magic he knew and trusted without question. Hatter's gaze shifted over to Black's form.

He'd certainly reined his power in when he'd struck the man on purpose at least. No need for pillar cracking strength after all. He hadn't wanted to kill the man, just knock him out and remove him as a threat. No doubt there'd be a bruise, but brain damage? Hatter's lips pursed slightly in thought. He didn't think there would be any, but like the healer had said…Sirius wasn't exactly a healthy stable man at the moment and if he didn't recover now that he'd received additional trauma…

Just as Hatter was contemplating the likelihood of having to lie to Harry and Alice should the worst happen, and if he could go through with it, healer Smethwyck marched back in; a potion bottle in each hand. He spared no glance for Hatter as he walked over to the far side of the bed, rubbing a thick purple salve from one bottle across Sirius' face before pouring half the contents of the other bottle down the man's throat. As Smethwyck was massaging Sirius' throat, forcing the body to swallow on reflex, the healer's eyes flickered to look at Hatter a few times, and only for a handful of seconds each time.

"He did bring up a good point," Smethwyck offered to the air.

Hatter raised his eyebrow in confusion, "Oh? What was that then?"

"You dare bare quite the resemblance to his old associate James Potter. I hadn't noticed with your hat on-"

_Shite._ Hatter was filled with a moment of panic. Well, at least he knew the easy answer to this problem. He quickly located his, now slightly singed, trilby hat and calmly picked it up from off of the floor.

"-but it makes me wonder if perhaps you know-"

The door pushed open just then and Hatter let out a sigh of relief at the interruption as Smethwyck shut up and looked to see who it was. Alice walked into the room with Harry right behind her, both quickly taking in the place and giving Hatter a smile when they saw him. "Got everything you need?" Alice asked, "We were thinking of catching lunch before hitting a few museums this afternoon."

"She means visit them, not actually hit them," Harry added, causing Alice to give him a playful shove in retaliation.

Hatter smiled to see them interacting so casually with each other. He looked over at Sirius and then the healer's stern expression before grimacing and facing Alice again, "I've got what I came here for this morning yeah."

"But I'm afraid we won't have a better report until this evening now," Smethwyck stated with a pointed look at Hatter.

Alice frowned, "Did something happen? I thought he was supposed to be in a coma or something."

It pleased Hatter to see the healer fidget slightly before answering, "Well, yes, he _was_ but he woke up suddenly, and after a brief scuffle that Mr. Hatter here felt the need to use a blow to the head to stop him with I'm forced to run additional scans to make sure there is no additional damage before he can be sent by port-key. Speaking of which, if you'll excuse me."

The three of them watched as the healer left the room swiftly before Alice looked at him skeptically, "Really? You thought punching him in the head was the best way to take him down?"

"'S not like I had much time to come up with something better," Hatter insisted as he spread his arms out dramatically, "Besides, it was just a tap! I'm sure he'll be fine."

A throaty moan briefly issued from the bed before turning silent and the couple turned to see Harry was gently poking Sirius right where Hatter had hit him. Hatter fiddled with making sure his hat was in its proper place nervously, "…or at least no lasting damage at any rate."

"Harry!" Alice rebuked, "Don't do that, you might make it worse."

"Sorry," Harry insisted, though not sounding the least bit chastised as he stepped away from the figure and back towards the couple, "I wanted to see if maybe I could help was all, but Hatter's right. He went easy on the bloke. There's nothin' broken, just a bit of bruising. Looks to be really out of it too."

"What could have possibly been so horrible about him waking up that you felt the need to punch him?" Alice inquired with her arms cross over her chest.

"Well it was more than just a scuffle, really. This Black fellow looked about ready to kill us! Had the healer in a strangle hold as soon as he popped up," Hatter informed them as his gaze fell upon the man in question, "Not to mention I'd seen-" Hatter abruptly cut himself off. He wasn't sure Alice would understand how seriously disturbed a lack of positive emotions could make someone. She'd seen a few patients at the Hospital of Dreams of course, but those were people in proper treatment.

Alice wasn't letting him drop the subject though. "What did you see?" she inquired honestly and Hatter weighed the seriousness of her stance before deciding to reply.

"He looked like a tea-head on the edge. Someone swallowed up by all the wrong emotions after his body stopped producing the ones he'd indulged on," Hatter gravelly informed them. He saw Harry take a reflexive step back away from the bed then and shoot Hatter a concerned look. The lad had seen just how violent a desperate tea-head could be after all.

A range of emotions was running across Alice's face as she looked between Hatter and Sirius for a few seconds. "That, that can happen?" she wondered before shaking herself a little, "I mean. Here, on Earth, and not just Wonderland? How…how is that possible? They don't have anything like the Emotion Teas here."

Hatter pursed his lips in thought as he grabbed the dark green folder off the table, "They mentioned something about the creatures they keep at the prison sucking out people's happiness at the trial. 'S what makes it so easy to keep them there." He flipped past the first few pages before he found what he was looking for and held it out for the pair of them to see. "The effects seem similar enough at any rate."

Harry only gave the information a brief skim, but Alice had a thoughtful look on her face and when she was done reading the diagnosis, she looked up at Hatter. "I wonder if," she paused to glance back at the file before setting down and facing him again, "Do you think my dad would be able to help? I mean, considering what he _used to_ do…" She let the sentence hang open, but Hatter knew what she meant. Considering everything that had happened today, it was possible the former Distiller might have a better understanding on how to help this Sirius bloke.

"Are you sure he'd want to?" Hatter asked honestly, "'S not like it's something he likes to chat about yeah?"

Before Alice could get a chance to reply, Harry spoke up. "I think he would," the lad stated with confidence, "I mean, he's always tryin' to help people out yeah? Plus it might give him an in towards a proper job." Hatter blinked at his young cousin's insight. Robert had been having a hard time finding a job he seemed to fit well with thanks to his past. He thought about how similar working in a hospital might be to a Distiller's job before realizing he didn't know enough about either to really asses the decision. Based on how Robert had been the past month though Hatter was fairly sure there was nothing to worry about.

Hatter nodded and gave his cousin a smile, "Sounds good to me. Shame we'll most likely have to wait a bit longer before he can take a look at the poor bloke."

"Not if we have him fly over," Alice insisted, her desire to help shinning through. "I can call him, see if he's free and have him take one of those," she grimaced slightly, "magical teleport things and he'd be here in less than half an hour."

"You think he would?" Harry pressed eagerly.

"Yes, and you know what?" she stated firmly, already puller her phone out and flipped it open, "I'll do it now. It shouldn't be too late in New York yet. Be back in an about an hour, and hopefully with my father in tow." Alice smiled widely at them before rushing out of the room, a muted apology floating behind her from the hallway, likely caused by her haste, was heard before the door swung shut.

The two cousins shared a small smile for a moment before Harry broke it off to look back at the unconscious man on the bed. If Hatter didn't already know Harry had a stubborn spot towards helping people he supposed he would've been worried the lad might be forming an attachment to this Sirius person. But instead, it just pleased him to know that even with all the hardships Harry had been through, he could still care so much about someone he knew so little about.

Hatter himself turned to observe Sirius then. He truly felt for the man if he was experiencing anything like emotion displacement. It wasn't something the former conman would wish on anyone. Well, maybe Jack once or twice at first but certainly never _seriously_. Nor to the extreme this man was likely experiencing if Sirius' memory was so addled as well. Hopefully the former Distiller would be willing to come over and offer his assistance with-

A thought suddenly occurred to Hatter at just that moment and a plan began to form in his mind. Thinking about Robert reminded just now reminded him about more than just the man's former profession. Hatter remained pensive as he mulled over the possibilities. It wasn't as if he _needed_ it for its intended purpose anymore. That last danger mark had passed over a fortnight ago and this would be putting it to a better use really. It also wasn't as if he didn't have experience handling something like this thanks to his association with the Resistance…

Decision made, Hatter contemplated the best way to get back to their room at the Leaky Cauldron. He certainly didn't fancy keeping suspicions down if he was seen in the Lobby more than twice today, what with all those reporters hanging about. Hatter looked over at Harry just then with a frown, "How did the pair of you sneak in today then? And where'd you leave Reggie alone at?"

"Well he's at the shop of course," Harry raised an eyebrow at him, "Made him stop and have a bite before we popped on over, but he's fussin' away with makin' new hats. Got a panama style finished already that I quite like but, anyways, it's not like he's not used to being on his is own for a span yeah? He's got plenty of food, tea, and bits and bubbles for his hats after all." Hatter nodded along, pleased that Harry, and most likely Alice from the sound of things, had checked on the old hat maker before leaving him alone. "As for the sneaking in," Harry grinned now, "It was easy enough to keep up the act that Alice is my Mum. We held hands and I played up being younger than I am and all." He paused in consideration before continuing, "She _was_ a tad nervous after reading the papers this morning so she might have smiled too much for someone visiting a dying relative, but I don't think it was really enough to make anyone notice."

Well that certainly didn't help his plan at all, but if wanted to test this it would have to be before Robert showed up while it was only Harry and himself. The only solution he could see was one he wasn't very fond of. "Would you be alright here for just a few minutes on your own Little Potter?"

"Sure," Harry said easily but with a calculated look at Hatter, "What're you planning though? Can't it wait till Alice gets back?"

"I'm thinkin'," Hatter started replied softly, "I might have something that can help balance him out." He gave a slow nod when he saw Harry's eyes widen in realization at what he was talking about, "And I wouldn't want to wave that about yeah?"

Harry glanced back over at Sirius before nodding once as well, "Yeah...if it's worse than you think though…"

"Then I'll take care of it," Hatter agreed.

"Right," Harry pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, "I'll wait here then, but you'll have to be quick if you want to beat her back."

Hatter nodded towards Sirius as he turned to leave, "They say he shouldn't wake again but if he does you get help yeah? We can deal with the reporters just fine if we need to. Don't leave for any other reason though, you got that?" He made sure Harry agreed to his conditions before sprinting out of the room and the hospital as fast as he could.

* * *

As he finally crept his way closer toward his intend goal, Remus Lupin reflected how much easier this sneaking about business had been when he was younger. Less scarring, less worries, and as much as he was reluctant to admit it…being a close friend to a Potter and a Black (even an outcast one) had certainly allowed him quite a bit of leeway. Still, it was smoother sailing now that he'd managed to sneak past the Welcome Witch at the front desk. A task aided in part by his now transfigured lime colored robe and a well timed tripping jinx in the Lobby.

He knew there was a sectioned off ward for special or complicated patients on the first floor from James and Sirius' auror days, but finding it was proving a bit tricky. After half an hour he had to force his eyes to watch as a mother and son turned down a hallway some ten meters from him that he couldn't remember being there before. Remus quickly followed after them before the warding displacement they'd created wore off. His luck was apparently with him though as not only did he make it through the ward, the pair led him right towards the room he was looking for. A flustered looking healer hustling out the door just as he'd located it.

Knowing full well he couldn't just barge in the room (even if he was pretending to be an employee at the moment), Remus fingered his wand idly as he pondered his options. He could wait and see if any additional employees or visitors (and who would be visiting Sirius besides himself anyway?) left, possibly losing his only window in the process, or he could…

Remus checked to ensure the hall was empty before working his spell in quick efficient movements. Privacy charms were often layered upon the doors to prevent eavesdroppers or reporters from listening in on conversations and allowed St. Mungo's to keep up their strict patient confidentiality policy intact. Remus' mouth twitched towards a smirk as the rectangle he'd outlined on the wall slowly became transparent after he touched his wand to his temple. It really was shame they'd yet to apply all of them to walls as well apparently. Of course this was supposed to be the most secure wing in the entire hospital so there could be a reason as to why they'd gotten lazy in their warding.

Even with his viewing window in place though, most of the warding held and Remus was unable to hear anything going on in the room. This was fine by him of course as he only wanted to speak with a healer and possibly get some alone time with his once close friend if Sirius was at all receptive to it. Surprisingly, the mother and son he'd followed from before were inside the room, along with a man who bore a strong resemblance to the boy and who Remus could only assume was the child's father. The three appeared to be discussing something and frequently looked at Sirius' prone form before the mother appeared to have made a decision and pulled something out of her pocket before turning and leaving the room. Remus scrambled to find something to occupy himself with as an excuse to his presence in the hall; only just finding a discarded issue of the Daily Prophet on a nearby chair as the woman came rushing out of the room, knocking into him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," she apologized and continued on in a hurry.

Pleased that he hadn't been found out, it took Remus a moment to note how odd it was that she had an American accent. His concentration having been broken from the contact however required him to recast his spell. Making sure to seat himself on the opposite side of the hall from the door so he wouldn't be as noticeable about his actions, Remus arranged the paper so to any passerby he would appear to be reading it.

He watched as the father and son talked for a few minutes until finally agreeing on a point, the son obviously making a remark about time, and the father making a statement before leaving the child alone in the room. The man didn't even give Remus pause as he sped past him and it made the former Marauder wonder what was going on that was so important that both parents would leave their child unattended? He watched as the boy, facing away from him, stared at Sirius' prone form on the bed before his own eyes finally took a chance to observe his long time friend's condition.

To put it simply, the man looked like a pale imitation of what he should be. Sunken cheeks easily visible even at this distance behind a matted and knotted beard and dark bruising circles under his eyes on what was an entirely too sun deprived face. Remus wasn't sure he'd have even recognized his once good friend were it not for the nameplate on the door confirming the occupant's identity. Letting the past twenty four hours sink in, Remus felt that wave of pain and regret wash over him once more. Surely there was something he could have done all those years back to have prevented this? Perhaps if he'd not been so easily swayed by what the media had printed he could've convinced them to allow for a trial then? He quickly scoffed at the notion. Begging for a trial and _hoping_ someone would actually listen would have been the more appropriate description.

Remus was so caught up in his musing and self deprecation that the sound of the door to Sirius' room opening caught him off guard and broke not only his line of thought, but the concentration required for the viewing spell. He blinked a few times to refocus himself as he saw the boy step out into the hall and quickly take it in before setting on him. There was brief flicker to the paper in his hands before the boy gave him a questioning look, "The other healer left some time ago if you're waiting on him."

The son's accent didn't match the mother's. Perhaps the father was British? Not that that bit of information helped Remus understand what the small family was doing here in the first place. "I'm just on my break actually," Remus replied with a smile, rustling the paper before him as evidence, "Much easier to find a quiet spot to read down here."

"Not some reporter trying to sneak in then?" the boy questioned with a teasing note in his voice. Remus chuckled in part to dismiss his nerves. The guess was awfully close to why he really was waiting outside after all.

"I will admit to some curiosity of course. Largest scandal we've seen in ages but, no, I'm not a reporter," Remus replied as he set the paper down, "Though now you've got me wondering just what a young boy such as yourself is doing in a high risk patient's room all on his own."

The implied question didn't even faze the boy. "Well I'm not really alone, am I? I'm waiting nicely in the hall with a hospital staff member to look after me should something go wrong."

Remus had to fight the twitch of a smile at the familiar use of word play the boy used. "And your parents had to leave you alone in the first place because…?" he asked. He hadn't been planning on prying information out of the boy, but perhaps if he could just glean a little bit of knowledge he could figure out the better time for his visit before his 'break' ended.

"They've gone to call in a specialist my mum knows in New York," the child supplied simply as he sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the hall from Remus. Well that was a bit suspicious wasn't it? Why would they both leave at separate times to contact the same person?

"Oh," Remus commented lightly, "Are your parents specialists on the case themselves? Or perhaps some relation of Mr. Black's?"

The boy looked critically at him then and Remus felt a twitch of something familiar in his memories at the hard look those green eyes were giving him. "No," the boy said slowly, "My Da's with the firm that helped free him. They're just trying to speed up the process to make sure he's stable enough to transfer."

Remus had to reign in his desire to press the boy for more information now. Clearly the lad was suspicious of him again though and no matter how much he wanted to know about where they might be taking Sirius, pushing the issue was likely to get him throw out. Still…it was clear from his own vast experience of such situations that the boy not only knew more than he was telling, but that he hadn't been entire truthful either.

"I see. Well," Remus calmly sighed, "Do you know how long they might take? I'd rather not leave you alone so I'll need to know if I should fetch a trainee to keep you company should they not return before my break ends."

He watched the lad intently to see how he would react to his words. The boy relaxed only slightly, giving a frown as he pulled his pocket watch out to check the time before glancing down the hallway. "Well…they are running late but they shouldn't be long I think and, anyway, I'll be fine on my own for a mo'" the boy insisted. Yes, there was certainly more going on here than was being said.

"I'm sure you would be," Remus smiled and gave his hands a brief clap, "What shall we talk about then to pass the time? I'm sure you've heard more than your liking about Mr. Black in there over the past week."

"I suppose," the boy shrugged indifferently, arms crossed over his chest, "Not as exciting as I thought it might be though. Probably should've stayed with Reggie." The last bit came out slightly mumbled, but Remus heard it clearly anyway.

"Who's Reggie then? A friend of yours?" he politely inquired.

The lad blinked in surprise before weighing his words mentally for a reply, "Sorta, yeah. He's our, well…I suppose…I don't really…he makes our hats." The last part was given up as almost a desperation answer and Remus could tell by the grimace on the boy's face now that his wasn't pleased with his response.

Remus chuckled anyway, "So he's a hatter then?"

This statement made the boy smile widely and Remus felt that pang of remembrance in his mind again upon seeing it. "Yeah," the boy grinned, "he's definitely that."

"He must be quite skilled if he's responsible for the fine chapeaux upon your head," Remus offered politely.

The lad continued to grin as he needlessly fiddled with his hat's placement, "Oh yeah. He's brilliant! Bit mad as well but it works out alright for 'em I think."

That feeling of similarity was tugging at him fiercely now with the added mischievous tone leaking through the boys voice. What was it? Why did that smile or those eyes seem so familiar to him? Did he perhaps know the boy's parents? The brief contact he'd had with the mother would suggest otherwise and he'd been pretending to read the paper when the father had left so he hadn't caught a good glimpse. Still, Remus knew if he could just think upon it for a moment longer it would-

"Harry? What're you doing out in the ha-"

The new voice broke Remus out of his thoughts, but the words he'd just spoken combined with the his first decent look at man had cause Remus to freeze in sudden shock. The man clearly hadn't seen Remus before he'd spoken based off the slight look of panic on his face. It wasn't obvious, and if he'd passed him on the street he doubted the man would have garnered more than a second glance…but his mind had already been looking for the connection by the time he'd turned his head. The similarities jumped out at him right away now that his mind had made the leap; jaw line, general body shape, and wild fly away hair escaping from under a slightly singed hat.

Remus' eyes darted once between the supposed father and son. Yes, there were similarities between them as well and – wait, hadn't Dumbledore told him he was safely tucked away with family? - but it was too much of a coincidence. Not when he'd just said-

"Did somethin' happen then?" the man asked in concern, his eyes taking in the color of Remus' robes before staring at the boy. The one he'd just called-

"Nope," the lad responded with a popping noise, "It just got a bit dull standing around in there on my own is all."

"No problem at all," Remus managed to mumble out; still in a state of shock at the realization crashing down around him.

"Right," the man nodded and his eyes assessed Remus once more before looking away, "Back inside then now yeah?"

The bright green eyed boy nodded and stood up, pausing as he followed behind his supposed father to give a friendly smile and a wave. Remus' heart clenched. How could he not have seen it right away? Why did his mind not make the connection? Was it just because it had been over two decades since he'd last seen a similar looking eleven - no, ten, his birthday was in July - year old give him that same smile and wave goodbye?

"Thanks for the chat yeah? Enjoy your break," the boy parted as he turned away.

"Quite, and thank you," Remus slowly replied. The door to Sirius' room swinging shut and sealing the room off just as he breathed out the last word with no small amount of awe.

"Harry…"

* * *

"Careful Dad," Alice calmly informed him as she reached out to steady the man that had not been standing there moments before. Robert Hamilton blinked a few times before standing back up under his own weight. From the moment she'd called him up on the phone it had actually taken just under an hour and a half for them to arrange for his trip and have him port-key over. Longer than Alice had thought it would take, but upon reflection she supposed the short transport time magic had allowed them this week had altered her perceptions. Too bad they were all violent or too nauseating for her to embrace.

"Well, that's certainly one way to travel," he eventually stated, causing Alice to chuckle.

"Yeah. Can't say I'm too fond of it either," she reassured him with a knowing smile. Alice took the broken pencil from his hand and tossed it with a pile of assorted trash to her left like an old pro however and led her father over to the customs official.

"Oh good. I didn't want to think it was just my age affecting anything," Robert smiled.

Alice gave a short burst of laughter while the guard efficiently checked her father through just as a loud banging noise signaled the next arrivals. Her father winced at the noise and Alice took hold of his hand to lead him out of the room and into the inn. "Thanks for coming out and helping Dad," she stated as the walked, "Hopefully you'll be able to figure out the best way to treat his condition."

"Yes," he agreed and went to say more just as they stepped into the loud dining hall of the inn. Knowing they wouldn't be heard over the throng of people though, Alice just gestured for him to follow her over to fireplace. The flames burst into a bright emerald color before a red haired young man stumbled out and went on his way. After a week of seeing people come and go during meal times Alice was finally indifferent to the sight so she looked for her father's reaction and saw him staring in awe. "John briefed me of course before the port-key activated, but this is quite the achievement! I wonder how they-"

"I'm sure we can ask someone about it later," Alice insisted, passing her father a handful of the required powder, "I'd rather just walk there but the hospital really is far away and since we have the option…" She trailed off with a resigned sigh before tossing in a handful of powder, calling out the hospital's name loudly, and bracing herself for the trip. It felt like being on the loopiest rollercoaster ever during a hot and humid east coast summer afternoon. Alice closed her eyes and went along with the fantasy and, only because she'd been anticipating it, managed to exit the fireplace in the Lobby of St. Mungo's with a graceful tumble end up in a standing position.

Her father's alarmed shout and round of coughing right behind her was evidence enough that he didn't have the same amount of luck. A few younger children that had seen their entrance snickered at the sight but Alice ignored them as she helped dust some soot off of her father. "Right," he coughed one last time before she started leading them away, "No matter the time saving benefits, I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me if I insist we use the subway for visits still."

Alice smiled, "I'm with you one hundred percent, but what were you about to say back at the inn?"

"Oh," his face brightened considerably as the walked, "Yes I spoke with John for a few minutes before my departure and I'll have to check with this man's charts of course but I may have an idea that could work."

Alice continued to smile and nod encouragingly, following along as her father continued to tell her about his theory up the single flight of stairs and then down the many halls to the secluded ward. She was so caught up in trying to follow along with his theory however that she only just remembered the healer's warnings in time to grab his hand so he wouldn't be turned around as they neared the hidden hallway and its ward line. He stumbled slightly as they crossed it and tried to turn back anyway, but Alice pulled him along with their clasped hands and words of encouragement. Once they turned the first corner he stopped trying to resist her and only shook his head, attempting to get his bearings.

"What was I talking about then?" he asked her in confusion and Alice smiled sympathetically.

"You were saying how if you can isolate the problem in his mind you might be able to reboot the umm, damaged emotional receptors in his brain," she informed him. It came out as more of a question than a statement but there was a reason she never followed her father's footsteps and went into medicine; scientific terminology just being one of them.

"Yes, yes," he nodded enthusiastically now as they rounded the last corner before Sirius' room, "The process, in theory, is a reversal of the one used to distill emotions. Just that instead of pulling from the frontal lobe we'll be working to funnel them back _in_. Now this is where I'll have to differ to magical stimulants that exist on this side but from what I've read and seen in the few texts I own the chances for success should be quite high."

Alice smiled happily at the good news. Hopefully whatever damage had occurred during Hatter's brief scuffle this morning would be minimal and this poor broken man could get his life back. She noticed the healer she'd bumped into on her way out was seated across from the room now and spared him a little smile before she turned away. Pushing open the door with a smile on her face, her mouth began to form Hatter's name to tell him the good news, only to freeze in place at the scene she saw before her with no small amount of surprise.

"Hatter…" she started, her shock giving way to anger as her mind filled in the likely answer, "Is that what I think…what the hell is going on here?"

* * *

Hatter froze for a brief moment at the sound of her voice. The tiny bottle of transparent yellow liquid in his hand quickly disappeared back into the six inch wide trunk resting on hospital bed before him a heartbeat later. But it was too little too late.

"Alice!" he smiled brightly, pretending like nothing was amiss. Perhaps he could play this off. "That was quick yeah? Back a little early aren't you?"

She was not to be deterred however and quickly moved to stand next to him on the far side of the room, a frown pulled tight across her lips. "Actually I'm running almost an hour over but don't try and change the subject. What did you just put away in here?" Alice demanded and quickly moved to grab a bottle. Hatter attempted to close the small mushroom trunk to stop her but she was too fast for him now, focused as she was, and deftly snatched up the small container of cheery yellow liquid he'd just been holding faster than he could blink.

Alright…scratch that first plan.

He licked his lips nervously and held beseeching hands in front of him, "Look, Alice, I can explain."

Alice had gone still upon turning the bottle to finally read the small metal tag affixed to the top and was now looking intently into his eyes. "Hatter this is tea. Wonderland Tea," she stated; her voice direct and accusing, growing increasingly forceful and insistent as she went on, "_Emotion Tea_. Tea that I _know_ Jack ordered to be destroyed before I even left Wonderland. So yes, please explain to me one good reason as to why you have several travel sized bottles of it on you and let me tell you, it better be a _damn good story_."

The implied threat of what would happen if it wasn't hung in the air but Hater remained calm as he attempted to find some why to explain this all to Alice that would go over well. Not a very simple task knowing her temper really. "I don't know what you think it looks like but I swear that's not it," he stated adamantly.

"Oh it sure as hell better not be," Alice laughed without mirth, "'Cause what it looks like is you're trying to start your little business all over again. Is that what all those tea bags you made are really for? Get them hooked to jack up your sales or something? Make yourself an instant success? Is he to be your first test subject to see if it even works on here as well?"

"What? I! Alice, no, how could you even think that?" Hatter could literally feel his jaw drop at her accusation. Did she really think so poorly of him that this was the first thing she jumped to? True, he had appeared a tad incriminating when she'd walked in but she had to have known by now that he'd never enjoyed profiting off those people in Wonderland…didn't she?

"What other explanation is there Hatter? There's no way Jack would've approved you bringing even one bottle of this over let alone-" she moved his hand out of the way to flip open the trunk to see inside of it, "-six of them."

Hatter frowned intently down at the bottles. Even when he tired to do good with them these dammed things were always mucking up his life weren't they? He looked back up at Alice then. Her face set against anything he might have to say and he made his decision. He truly hadn't wanted to tell her. If any lie could've spared her what he knew was coming he would say it, gladly even, but there was no use for it. Hatter could only hope she would understand why he'd done what he had and not hate him for it. He glanced across the room and found it mercifully empty now. Harry or Robert must have taken the other out into the hall at some point and he'd have to thank one of them for that decision in the future.

"I was given permission to bring them just in case they were needed for your father," Hatter replied softly. Looking directly at her once more he could see the blood drain from her face as his words washed over her.

"What?" she questioned blankly.

"The quacks back at the Hospital of Dreams were worried he'd suffer a relapse once he left Wonderland. Sure he seemed alright but no one's ever come back sane from a personality overwrite Alice, and they thought living in a world without magic might cause whatever technique they used to fix him to fall apart." He spoke calmly and evenly. Hoping his tone might make the risk they'd taken seem less painful. "Harry and I were to watch his moods, slip him an enhancer if we thought they'd fallen into dangerous levels, and if things went really ducky…bring him back through."

Alice had set the bottle of happiness down on the bed as he spoke, backing away from it like it was the cause of all of her problems. Head bowed she moved until her back was pressed up against the wall some six feet from where he stood but didn't say anything. Seconds stretched out into minutes before Hatter couldn't take the silence any longer, "Alice love, please-"

"Please what?" she snapped up to look at him with blazing tear filled eyes, "Please say everything's fine, that, that I forgive you for lying to me?"

His heart clenched but Hatter pushed on, "I wasn't lying to you, I wasn't allowed to tell anyone-"

"Not even the person it most directly affected?" Alice pushed, "You could tell a ten year old kid about something this serious but not me? I mean, what does that say about what you think of me!"

He frowned and shook his head, "Now that's not fair-"

"No I'll tell you what's not fair. Not fair is when you believe and hope until you finally find someone you thought you'd lost for forever and when you do get him back, you find out that you might've lost him again at any second but no one bothered to tell you cause they thought you couldn't handle it!"

Alice swiped an angry arm across her face to wipe the few tears that had escaped off. "So what," she demanded, "You we're just never going to say anything if it came up? Let me live with this, this _lie_ of what I could've had?"

Hatter scowled, "It wasn't like that Alice, I would _never_ do something like that to you. I would've worked it out somehow in the end and it doesn't matter now any-"

"It sure as hell does!" Alice cut him off, "All that time when we first met, with you going on about how I needed to _trust you_ - which _I did_ by the way - and you couldn't even bother to extend any of it to me could you? It's been _months_Hatter and you couldn't be bothered to tell me about this."

"'S not a matter of trust Alice-"

"Then what? What is it about Hatter?" she inquired with blazing eyes and barely checked anger, "If not telling me everything about how serious-"

"It was about hope alright!" He yelled finally and he could see Alice was caught so off guard by it that he could see some of the steam from her anger had disbursed. Hatter took the opportunity for what it was and continued on. "I know what it's like to need hope that badly Alice. More so than you probably realize, and yeah, maybe I shoulda gone against my promise and laid everything out straight for you that first week on this side but how could I do that?" he insisted passionately but no longer shouting, "It was like watching a real fairy story come to life before my eyes with you and your family. Reunited and sewing things up and not only that but I got to be woven right on in there as well. I never thought I'd be better than just me and Harry but it was, it _is_, and there was _nothing_ that was gonna stop me from letting you have the fairy story. I had control of the only thing that might cause it to tumble down but I had a plan Alice. One that I didn't even _need_ as it turns out! But even if I had to use it no one would've known but Harry and we weren't doing it for the thanks or even because there was no one else that could."

Hatter strode the few feet between them and gently cupped her cheek, "I didn't tell you about you father's condition not because I didn't trust you, but because I care too much to see you hurt."

Tears tumbled down Alice's cheeks once again and she stepped out of Hatter's touch easily to wipe them away; turning her back to him in the process. "That doesn't make your decision the right one," Alice spoke firmly. "You should've told me, maybe not right away, but definitely sometime before all this mess," she waved her hand in the general vicinity of Sirius' bed.

He could see she was closing herself off from him and moved towards her. "I love you Alice," he affirmed, "I just didn't wanna see you get hurt. That's all."

"Well I did anyway didn't I?" she gave a mirthless laugh again, turning to face him as she took a few backwards steps towards the door. The pain he saw in her eyes tore at his heart and froze him in place. He'd never wanted to be the cause of such a feeling and knowing his actions led to this moment had him berating himself mentally for what he'd done. "And I think," she paused and looked away. Taking a steadying breath before staring at him with a set determination, "I think I need to go."

Hatter felt his mouth go dry and his stomach bottom out. "Go?" he questioned numbly and Alice nodded once decisively.

"Yeah I need…I need to think about all of this, what it means, and I can't be dealing with this other mess you're mixed up in if I'm gonna do that," she stated as she stood her ground.

Hatter could almost feel the chasm that had opened between them like a physical thing. He'd known she wouldn't be pleased that he'd been keeping this from her, had hoped even that she would never have to find out and could successfully skirt the topic entirely. But to see her reaction now, how deeply his silence had cut her… it was so much worse than he thought it could possibly be.

"And Hatter," she added, "You have to decide if you're ever really going to let me into the same level of trust you seem to have with Harry cause this," she gestured to the trunk on the bed, "this is huge, but it's not a one time thing with you. You've kept me in the dark on so many of your plans and your ideas and they just." Alice closed her eyes and turned her head for a second before regarding him once more, "I can't keep pretending they're not a problem if it's always gonna be that way with you."

She turned without another word then and walked out of the room, and Hatter could do nothing to make himself go after her; frozen to the spot as he was by her words.

* * *

Author's Comments: Show of hands everyone, who'd guessed that this was what Hatter had been hiding/worried about since way back in chapter two? Hopefully it was a surprise to at least some of you. :) Maybe more?

Lots of fun things going on in this chapter and now that I've got a very open summer in front of me, hopefully, I'll be able to get back on a every two weeks update schedule. This chapter held some very important plot points for the summer months arc of the story and I'm beyond excited to be writing about these now. We also see my inspiration for this entire series make it's reappearance here with the comparisons of Hatter to James Potter. I don't know who they've go to be his 'ghost' for Deathly Hollows Part 2, but I still stand firm in my mind that Hater looks similar to how I always pictured James in his prime did/would've. Seriously though, I knew about this chapter's events a year ago and had to keep quiet. Wow...a whole year since I started this sequel. I've really gotta pick up my writing pace Tumbling was done in what, 3 months? *shamed*

A sincere thank you to everyone who's stuck with me in this year (alerts and favs) and to those of you who continue to leave me reviews. You're the driving force that keeps me writing and posting this story and I always do my best to give you the best chapter I can with each update. I can only hope it shows. ^_^  
Also, Happy Independence Day to my American pals, and Happy Belated Canada Day to my Canadian readers!

Posted July 3, 2011.


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